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<\/p>\n Beyond The Numbers
\n Medvedev’s hard-court weapon is not what you might expect<\/p>\n
Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analyses Medvedev’s return<\/p>\n
July 31, 2025<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Peter Staples\/ATP Tour<\/p>\n
Daniil Medvedev has excelled on return throughout his career, especially on hard courts.
\n By Andrew Eichenholz<\/p>\n
Daniil Medvedev<\/a> 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\u2019s accomplishments on hard is clear.<\/p>\n Despite standing 6\u20196\u201d 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\u2019s National Bank Open Presented by Rogers<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a specialist in hard court,\u201d Medvedev once said during a match. And although that has proven an exaggeration \u2014 he has won an ATP Masters 1000 title on clay and reached two Wimbledon<\/a> semi-finals on grass \u2014 the star\u2019s hard-court accolades stand out.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> and Carlos Alcaraz<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst of all I like returning in general. I feel like it\u2019s somewhere I feel comfortable,\u201d Medvedev told ATPTour.com. \u201cI think in general many guys prefer to return because you have a tiny bit less pressure and you can go for more shots.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Medvedev’s Returning Stats By Surface<\/a> (Pos. on leaderboard)<\/p>\n \u00a0Stat \u00a0First-Serve Return Pts Won \u00a0Second-Serve Return Pts Won \u00a0Return Games Won *Position among all players since records were kept\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n Because of his hard-court return prowess, Medvedev has consistently been a threat on the surface. The 2020 Nitto ATP Finals<\/a> champion has won 20 tour-level titles, and 18 of them have been on hard courts.<\/p>\n
\n \u00a0Hard
\n \u00a0Clay
\n \u00a0Grass
\n \u00a0Overall<\/p>\n
\n \u00a031.6% (23)
\n \u00a034% (96)
\n \u00a027.6% (90)
\n \u00a031.4% (57)<\/p>\n
\n \u00a054.3% (9)
\n \u00a027.6% (90)
\n \u00a052.7% (62)
\n \u00a053.5% (26)<\/p>\n
\n \u00a028.1% (21)
\n \u00a027.5% (136)
\n \u00a022% (65)
\n \u00a027.1% (48)<\/p>\n
\nMedvedev 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.<\/p>\n
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