ATP Tour

Beyond The Numbers

Medvedev's hard-court weapon is not what you might expect

Daniil Medvedev has never hidden his love for hard courts, the surface on which he has enjoyed the most success. The reason behind the 29-year-old’s accomplishments on hard is clear.

Despite standing 6’6” tall and showing an ability to dominate with his serve throughout his career, the former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings has performed better on hard than clay and grass because of his return. That will be a key area to keep an eye on for the rest of the season, including at this week’s National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

“I’m a specialist in hard court,” Medvedev once said during a match. And although that has proven an exaggeration — he has won an ATP Masters 1000 title on clay and reached two Wimbledon semi-finals on grass — the star’s hard-court accolades stand out.

Medvedev has not only performed better on return than on serve, but significantly moreso on hard courts relative to any other surface. The only active players in the same category as him are Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.

“First of all I like returning in general. I feel like it’s somewhere I feel comfortable,” Medvedev told ATPTour.com. “I think in general many guys prefer to return because you have a tiny bit less pressure and you can go for more shots.”

According to Infosys ATP Stats, Medvedev is in the Top 25 among all players since records were kept for three key categories on hard courts: career first-serve return points won (31.6%), second-serve return points won (54.3%) and return games won (28.1%). He is not in the Top 25 in any of those categories when you consider those statistics for all surfaces. 

Medvedev's Returning Stats By Surface (Pos. on leaderboard)

Stat	Hard	Clay	Grass	Overall
First-Serve Return Pts Won	31.6% (23)	34% (96)	27.6% (90)	31.4% (57)
Second-Serve Return Pts Won	54.3% (9)	27.6% (90)	52.7% (62)	53.5% (26)
Return Games Won	28.1% (21)	27.5% (136)	22% (65)	27.1% (48)

^{*Position among all players since records were kept} 
Medvedev has nearly won the same rate of return games on clay as he has on hard. But compared to the field, his hard-court success stands out.

The only active players who have won a higher percentage of return games and first-serve return points on hard courts are Djokovic and Alcaraz. Just Djokovic has been better on second-serve return (54.3%) and the Serbian is widely considered the best returner in history.

Because of his hard-court return prowess, Medvedev has consistently been a threat on the surface. The 2020 Nitto ATP Finals champion has won 20 tour-level titles, and 18 of them have been on hard courts.

There have been times when Medvedev has dominated on serve, too. His career standing in service games won (84.3%) on hard courts is 46th, though. It is the consistency of his return game that has made him a huge threat for opponents, especially in the biggest matches.

In the five hard-court ATP Masters 1000 tournaments Medvedev has won in his career, his return has led the way. In those five finals, he won 31.5 per cent of his return points and broke serve 17 total times.

“What always keeps me motivated [is] also that maybe even in some moments when I [don’t] win as many matches or don’t play my best, I still have these exceptional numbers on return,” Medvedev said. “Usually I’m probably top five or something, so that’s what always keeps me motivated. [If] I just try to play a tiny bit better and I’m going to make it.”

Medvedev will try to maintain that mentality and return success this week in Toronto, where he is pursuing his first title since Rome in 2023.