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Daniil Medvedev had just won the biggest title of his career, “the best victory” of his life in the ATP Finals, but he did not celebrate.
Instead, he just looked at his box, shrugged, emptied a ball from his pocket, shrugged again before walking expressionlessly to meet his defeated opponent Dominic Thiem at the net.
And if he wins many more titles, including one of the tennis Grand Slams, he says he will do the same again.
“That’s going to be my thing,” the 24-year-old Russian said after Sunday’s 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 victory in London.
“In tennis I think I am probably the first, definitely in football I have seen players who do not celebrate.
“I decided during the US Open when I had a difficult time with the crowd.
“I don’t celebrate my victories. That’s my thing and I like it.”
That “hard time” he refers to at the 2019 US Open seems to have been a key moment in Medvedev’s creation.
He was booed by the American public for his bad behavior on the court in the early rounds, but by the time he completed a run to the final he had already he conquered them with a joke and a smile.
That day, his first appearance in a Slam final, lost in five sets to Rafael Nadal.
Fourteen months later, he beat the Spaniard on his way to a surprising victory at the O2 Arena that made clear his credentials as a future star of the game.
He was unbeaten throughout, defeating world number one Novak Djokovic in the group stage, world number two Nadal in the semi-finals and world number three Thiem in the final. Never in its 50-year history has someone beat the three best players in the world in the season-ending championships.
“My level of play here, especially the last two games, is just incredible,” he said.
“Beating Dominic, the way he played today, is probably the best win of my life.
“I know I can play well, but I wouldn’t have believed it if you had told me before the tournament.”
Medvedev was committed as he spoke freely to the media after his victory. He is not necessarily the typical tennis player of today.
Thiem is a supreme athlete and thunderous hitter, Stefanos Tsitsipas, another young suitor, is energetic and graceful, while 23-year-old Alexander Zverev has a game built around great first serve and forehand.
Medvedev is lanky, technically a bit awkward compared to the others.
He has impressive power, but that’s mixed with crafty angles and, against Thiem, the will to break into the net.
It’s a style that has already sent you on hot streaks. Last year he reached six consecutive finals, culminating in Nadal’s loss in New York, to get the world’s attention for the first time as a player in the top 10.
This victory in London takes his winning streak to 10 matches, having also claimed the Paris Masters title in preparation for the season finale.
But it has not always been easy.
“Even before Paris I didn’t feel safe in my game or in my tennis,” he said. “I proved myself wrong.”
Now the focus is on the future. Having won the biggest prize in tennis outside of the Grand Slams, there will inevitably be those who think he is in the best position to dethrone Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer at the top of the game.
But Medvedev is the fifth consecutive winner of the tournament ending the season for the first time, after Andy Murray, Grigor Dimitrov, Zverev and Tsitsipas, and Murray is the only one of the other four to have won a Grand Slam. In fact, it was Thiem who broke the ‘Big Three’ dominance in the game by becoming the first male senior champion since 2014. at this year’s US Open.
Winning the ATP Finals does not guarantee success in a Grand Slam, but this year it felt different with Nadal and Djokovic, both beaten by younger men. the same day in the semifinals.
“Hopefully all the young people will keep pushing, we will have big rivalries,” Medvedev said.
“Hopefully we can be there for a long time, maybe pushing back the other generations, because that’s how we can be close to the top three. They probably went through two, three generations without downgrading, which isn’t easy.
“But what is definitely good about us, about Dominic, about me, we managed to beat Rafa and Novak, which is an incredible achievement.”
Thiem was equally positive despite the loss.
“We show that we can play with the legends and also beat them and win the biggest tournaments,” he said.
“There will still be a time when those guys are retiring in three, four or five years and we will be the favorites for all the big titles. For tennis, there are some exciting times ahead.”
Djokovic, Nadal and Federer have proven that people are wrong time and time again.
His presence in an uncertain 2021 season will mean that we cannot guarantee to see Medvedev’s ‘no celebration’ on the bigger stage next year, but we could.
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