By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Monday, February 26, 2024
Gilles Simon's ingeniously irritating style inspired Daniil Medvedev to add the Frenchman to his coaching team.
Australian Open finalist Medvedev met the media in Dubai today—his first tournament with new coach Simon alongside long-time coach Gilles Cervara on his coaching team..
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The 39-year-old Simon won three of four career meetings against Medvedev, with the three victories coming on three different surfaces.
Mastering the Simon art of putting opponents in awkward positions was part of the appeal of adding the former world No. 6 to his coaching team, Medvedev said.
“I thought about Gilles Simon for many different reasons," Medvedev told the media in Dubai. "He knows tennis well. You can see it. He was able to beat me and make me feel not good on the court.
"Together the two Gilles could discuss what was he doing to make me in trouble, and what can we do in practice to work on it. So far I really like it. We share a little bit the same mentality. We’re easy-going.”
The man nicknamed "Meddy Bear"—Medvedev's recent birthday cake came adorned with a mini Meddy Bear—made a heroic run to his third Australian Open final last month.
In a topsy-turvy Australian Open final, Jannik Sinner roared back from a two-set deficit defeating Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to capture his maiden major championship.
It marked the second time in three years Medvedev lost a two-set lead in the Australian Open final. Medvedev, who was contesting his sixth final in his last 10 hard-court majors, was up two sets on Rafael Nadal before bowing in five sets in the 2022 Australian Open final.
Though Medvedev made ignominious history as the first man in the Open Era to lose two Slam finals from two sets up, the effort he exuded reaching the final made the result a bit more palatable.
Conceding he's "disappointed" to fall in the final, Medvedev said he's not gutted because he knows he gave his best reaching a third AO final.
“To be honest, ‘get over’ was quite easy," Medvedev told the media in Dubai. "As I said after the match, I felt like it would be easy because I played a great tournament, I played a good final.”
Photo credit: Kelly Defina/Getty