{"id":116240,"date":"2025-09-03T08:04:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T08:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/116240\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T08:04:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T08:04:10","slug":"exclusive-cervara-on-medvedev-split","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/116240\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive : Cervara on Medvedev split"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tennis Majors: We heard on Sunday that you’re no longer Daniil Medvedev\u2019s coach. That’s something that can happen when results no longer meet expectations. Could you clarify who took that decision, when, and how?<\/p>\n

Gilles Cervara: Yes, results are the gauge of professional success\u2014and even the measure of the player\u2011coach relationship in tennis. They hadn\u2019t been satisfactory for some time (Medvedev began the season ranked 5th in the world; he\u2019s now 13th, and 22nd in the Race). The question is why, and I\u2019ve been thinking about it for a long time. After his first\u2011round loss at Wimbledon this year, I became certain that if results didn\u2019t rebound during the summer, something needed to change. That \u201csomething\u201d was the energy around Daniil. So we needed to change the people involved. The \u201cpeople\u201d concretely meant either me, or the fitness trainer \u00c9ric Hernandez, or both (\u00c9ric Hernandez also announced that the Medvedev project was ending for him). I kept thinking about it. I talked to Daniil after the US Open. He himself raised the idea: \u201cAfter eight years, maybe it\u2019s time for something different.\u201d I said to him: \u201cListen, that\u2019s exactly what needs to happen in my opinion, because I don\u2019t think I can continue to make you perform in the energy state we\u2019re in right now. You need something new, something different, to transform.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tennis Majors: So would you say that you both had the same idea, at the same time, and you shared that during your usual debrief after the US Open?<\/p>\n

Gilles Cervara: I think I thought of it before him. I talked about it with his agent in Cincinnati. I was ready. In a frank assessment of the situation, I didn\u2019t want to put Daniil in a corner\u2014or myself. If I had asked him, \u201cDo you think you can carry on like this?\u201d and he\u2019d said \u201cyes,\u201d that would have been a risk\u2014a huge risk. We would only have had three months to validate that choice. You can keep working well while waiting for better results, of course. But starting a new season like that puts a sword of Damocles over your head\u2014you have zero room for error, or\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"Daniil Medvedev (Rus) with his wife Daria Medvedeva and his coach Gilles Cervara \u2013 \u00a9 PSNewz<\/p>\n

Tennis Majors: Isn\u2019t that sword of Damocles the fate of every coach? Even when results weren\u2019t good this season, were you both just waiting to go through the US Open, no matter what?<\/p>\n

Gilles Cervara: No, we don\u2019t think that way. You could absolutely have replaced me earlier. But looking at the season, that would have felt rushed. After Wimbledon? We had just reached the Halle final, which reignited something, and the return of mental preparation with Francisca Dauzet gave new impetus, and a hope for a different summer. Before Wimbledon, there was the clay\u2011court season\u2014never his best\u2014and before that, the recovery after his decision to stop working with Gilles Simon.<\/p>\n

Tennis Majors: What happened in recent months that you had never experienced with Daniil\u2014and that prevented regaining the performance cycle that defined you up to 2024?<\/p>\n


\n \"\"
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Gilles Cervara: I think I recognized things in our dynamic\u2014and I shared them with Daniil. In hindsight, those things caused exactly the outcome I feared. It\u2019s unfortunate it ended like this, but at the same time, it\u2019s natural. It allows me to keep learning\u2014for my experience as a coach, to be able to do better in the future, and to respond differently when I sense something is off.<\/p>\n

I think I\u2019m incapable of routine, and I\u2019ve likely never been.<\/p>\n

Tennis Majors: When did you first realize the results weren\u2019t good enough? Was it at Wimbledon this year, Roland Garros, earlier? His atypical Grand Slam results started in Australia, with a second-round loss to Tien.<\/p>\n

Gilles Cervara: It\u2019s more complicated. Results are only the visible part of a larger reality\u2014his personal life, family, daily work, goals, team. In the visible realm, things started declining after Melbourne. But looking back, maybe it was already too late. Every attempt to revive things failed because the deeper causes had taken root. The energy and structure weakened.<\/p>\n

Working with Gilles Simon (February 2024\u2013January 2025) caused what I called \u201cstatic,\u201d disruptions, and afterward we tried to restore things\u2014but recovery was difficult. I\u2019d even say it didn\u2019t succeed. At that time, post\u2011Australia after Simon\u2019s departure, we tried to rebuild and start from scratch.<\/p>\n

In tennis terms, it was all very sluggish. I\u2019m not saying he\u2019s playing great now, but he has resources. I believe with what he will put in place, his level can come back quickly. After Australia, we went into reconstruction. That phase dragged into the whole season\u2014we never got back on the winning track.<\/p>\n

\"DaniilDaniil Medvedev and Gilles Cervara, practicing at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, 2022 \u2013 \u00a9 Tennis Majors<\/p>\n

Tennis Majors: \u201cStatic\u201d? Did Daniil hear mixed messages about his game while Gilles Simon was part of the staff?<\/p>\n

Gilles Cervara: No. We were aligned\u2014he heard the same message, just expressed differently. It\u2019s a type of energy that got transformed and created imbalances in the team. Not everyone senses it. You push in one direction, but it\u2019s not the right one. You have to retrace your steps, find a new direction. That\u2019s how we arrived here.<\/p>\n

Tennis Majors: When you talk about changing energy, it reminds me of routine. Should you have changed everything, and couldn\u2019t manage it?<\/p>\n

Gilles Cervara: I think I\u2019m incapable of routine, and I\u2019ve likely never been. A team around a player is like an engine\u2014a complex machine that drives forward. When it runs at full power, you go fast. At some point the engine stops, but you don\u2019t see it because the boat continues gliding. After a while, that energy is gone, and you\u2019re stuck mid-sea, trying to restart that engine.<\/p>\n

I firmly believe he still has it in him, that he can soon be brilliant and victorious.<\/p>\n

Tennis Majors: Daniil\u2019s biggest losses this year were tight battles that slipped away: Tien in Melbourne, Norrie at Roland, Bonzi at Wimbledon and the US Open. These kinds of matches usually go to the best. Does this show he’s far from his level\u2014or close, with just a psychological block?<\/p>\n

Gilles Cervara: Hard to say. I firmly believe he still has it in him\u2014that he can soon be brilliant and victorious. That spark was there at times this year. But he couldn\u2019t close some matches\u2014for various reasons, including possibly lacking mental prep resources, which he will now rebuild with Francisca Dauzet. That\u2019s almost certain to put things back in order. Many athletes, many tennis players, go through troughs and bounce back. I am sure he is capable\u2014and it will happen. If he wins a few matches, he can catch fire again, like he did after Rotterdam 2023\u2014arriving full of doubt, then delivering a top-level season. In New York, I told the staff: \u201cIf he flips that match against Bonzi, we\u2019ll see him in the Round of 16 against Alcaraz, for sure.\u201d It\u2019s easy to say now, but that\u2019s exactly what I felt.<\/p>\n

Tennis Majors: At 27, what does Daniil need that you couldn\u2019t give him anymore?<\/p>\n

Gilles Cervara: Let me correct that: I never felt unable to bring something to Daniil. I was fully aware of all I could offer.<\/p>\n

Tennis Majors: Maybe not everything he needed, though?<\/p>\n

Gilles Cervara: I believe I was fully capable. It\u2019s the overall energy that no longer allows that capacity to manifest in results. To answer your question: he\u2019ll find capable people to provide the right perspective on his game\u2014I doubt it for a second. I could have offered that. It might sound arrogant just after ending the collaboration, but that\u2019s not why it ended. But I think he does need someone who can listen to him and understand him. That, I am sure of.<\/p>\n

Tennis Majors: Seeing your posts on social media, it seems you\u2019ve parted on very congenial terms\u2014perhaps even as friends?<\/p>\n

Gilles Cervara: Friendship is intimate. You share bits of yourself with friends that, as a coach, you can\u2019t share with a player\u2014at least not in my view. That\u2019s how I see it. Emotional or affectionate aspects shouldn\u2019t interfere. But complicity\u2014yes, absolutely, both professionally and personally. That will remain. Parting on good terms is also satisfying\u2014it continues what we experienced. We always spoke with restraint, with intelligence, with respect.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not tired of this life at all, and I want to be back on tour.<\/p>\n

Tennis Majors: What do you want for yourself?<\/p>\n

Gilles Cervara: A few weeks of rest, then a return to the Tour\u2014a new project where I can relive this, give a player what he needs, a project that fuels my desire to guide someone to great achievements. I want to feel that I\u2019m made for this.<\/p>\n

Tennis Majors: A few weeks\u2014how many is that?<\/p>\n

Gilles Cervara: Two months, maybe? If I\u2019m looking to next season, that means starting pre\u2011season in November.<\/p>\n

Tennis Majors: What kind of player?<\/p>\n

Gilles Cervara: Either someone already high-level who needs a bit more energy to level up, or someone not top-level yet, but with huge potential.<\/p>\n

Tennis Majors: Have you had interest?<\/p>\n

Gilles Cervara: Some agents, yes. They wanted to know my state of mind\u2014and I gave the same answer: I\u2019m not tired of this life at all, and I want to be back on tour.<\/p>\n

Tennis Majors: What did you learn from this adventure with Daniil\u2014and from recent months?<\/p>\n

Gilles Cervara: What I learned is essentially confirmation. It\u2019s the kind of project and challenge that truly suits me. Everything\u2014for me, both good and bad\u2014is a way to be better, to find solutions, to learn about myself. This recent period taught me that if I\u2019d approached the problems I saw early in a different way, I could have changed the course of things by behaving differently. The next time a similar situation arises, I\u2019ll position myself differently.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tennis Majors: We heard on Sunday that you’re no longer Daniil Medvedev\u2019s coach. That’s something that can happen…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116241,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[49,48,82,593],"class_list":{"0":"post-116240","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-tennis"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116240\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}