{"id":52031,"date":"2022-09-03T21:31:12","date_gmt":"2022-09-04T01:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=52031"},"modified":"2022-09-03T21:31:12","modified_gmt":"2022-09-04T01:31:12","slug":"nick-kyrgios-dangerous-daniil-medvedev","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2022\/09\/03\/nick-kyrgios-dangerous-daniil-medvedev\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Nick Kyrgios Is Such a Dangerous Matchup for Daniil Medvedev"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nick Kyrgios leads Daniil Medvedev in their head-to-head 3-1, and has a chance to add to that little bit of dominance on Sunday at the US Open<\/a>. It\u2019s unusual not only because Medvedev is the more accomplished and steady player, but because the Russian has a skillset that seems to match up well with everyone. He pushes Nadal to the brink every time they play, and has split his Slam finals matchups with Djokovic. He handles everyone else on tour, usually with relative ease, but Kyrgios has the better of him. What is it about the Aussie\u2019s game that gives Medvedev so much trouble, and should we expect more of the same in their US Open Round 4 matchup?<\/p>\n

Why Nick Kyrgios Is Such a Dangerous Matchup for Daniil Medvedev<\/h2>\n

To be fair, a four-match sample size is not very big, and if Medvedev wins it will sit at 3-2, which is entirely unremarkable. But Medvedev is such a player that anyone beating him at all warrants a closer look, much less beating him three times. And before we even dig into the reasons, the fact that we are talking about Nick Kyrgios almost answers the question without needing reasons. Kyrgios beats everyone when he tries<\/a>. He beat the Big 3 as a teenager, he\u2019s beaten two then-current world #1\u2019s, and his pure physical skillset is often considered the best of his generation. So if anyone was going to hold a 3-1 record over Medvedev, it was either going to be a Big 3 or Nick Kyrgios.<\/p>\n

Yin and Yang<\/h4>\n

But it\u2019s more than just raw skill and general talent that Kyrgios brings to the matchup. He happens to play in almost exactly the opposite way of Medvedev. Medvedev has a big swatty forehand that he plays from deep behind the baseline; Kyrgios has an elbow-jackknifing, whippy forehand that he hits from near the court. Neither has a particularly remarkable backhand, although Medvedev has a remarkably awkward backhand motion, while Kyrgios gets by with a surprisingly short backswing. Medvedev uses the backhand well, especially with precision shots down the line, while Kyrgios doesn\u2019t seem to consider it a weapon at all, and just sends his backhands back with little enthusiasm to await a more interesting shot.<\/p>\n

Both players have a tendency to turn defense into offense, but offense seems to be Medvedev\u2019s more natural groove, while Kyrgios seems to just want someone to challenge him so he can doing something fun. Medvedev speeds around the court in long gangly strides, but never goes out of his way to come to net; Kyrgios plays a low-energy variety of defensive tennis that seems mainly designed to stave off boredom, and looks more comfortable at the net than even Maxime Cressy. Medvedev exerts maximum energy, Kyrgios minimum, even when he is at his best.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>