Conditions in Almaty Lead to Supreme Serving for Medvedev
Everywhere you looked on Friday there were fans holding signs of support for Daniil Medvedev inside the Almaty Arena. The former world No.1 gave his fans lots to cheer about on Friday as he put forth a flawless performance to get past Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan, reaching his fifth hard-court semifinal of 2025, 7-5, 6-2.
Medvedev relied on pinpoint serving and stellar execution as he reeled off nine of the final 11 games to book his 62nd career ATP semifinal, and his third from his last three events.
The steady success of late (he has won nine of his last 11 matches), and the departure of the other Top 5 seeds from Almaty (No.1 Karen Khachanov, No.3 Flavio Cobolli, No.4 Luciano Darderi, No.5 Brandon Nakashima), has Medvedev seeing a clear path to what would be his 21st ATP title, and first since he triumphed in Rome, in the spring of 2023.
«When the field opens up you always feel that you have the chance, but as we saw in Shanghai, it is not always the most important,» Medvedev said when asked about the fact that he’s the highest-ranked player left in the draw, by far. «I know if I play well I have a chance to win this tournament.»
If the former world No.1 can continue to serve like he did on Friday, his chances for victory are good. He connected on 81 percent of his first serves against Marozsan, which is his third highest percentage in a best-of-three set match in his career.
«I served really well today,» Medvedev said. «When I needed to step up I managed to step up, so I hope to continue playing this way.»
Though the improvement in the stroke appears drastic, Medvedev says that he has not changed much about his serve since he began working with his new coach Thomas Johansson after the US Open. It’s just the little details that are making the difference, he says.
«I would say for sure we work on small things but there is no magic, it’s not like they told me one thing and I was like ‘Wow’, and it made me serve better,» Medvedev said in his post-match press conference. «It’s more in general that I am playing better and when you play better you know that your first shot after the serve is better, so you are less nervous on your serve, whereas if you don’t feel well you are like ‘If the ball is coming back what do I do?’»
For Medvedev, who cracked 27 winners against just 12 unforced errors against Marozsan, the conditions in Almaty have allowed him to focus on precision rather than pace.
«It’s a mix of everything and for sure the altitude here helps, because you can see in every match that whenever the serve is precise – not even strong – it’s tough to return it, so you don’t have to go full power, compared to somewhere like Shanghai, for example,» he said. «For sure when you don’t go full power you can gain a higher percentage, and that was the case for both of us today.»
14th-ranked Medvedev will face Aussie James Duckworth in the semifinals on Saturday, as he tries to reach his first hard court final since 2024 Indian Wells. He owns a 1-0 lifetime record against the 138-ranked Aussie.
Medvedev relied on pinpoint serving and stellar execution as he reeled off nine of the final 11 games to book his 62nd career ATP semifinal, and his third from his last three events.
The steady success of late (he has won nine of his last 11 matches), and the departure of the other Top 5 seeds from Almaty (No.1 Karen Khachanov, No.3 Flavio Cobolli, No.4 Luciano Darderi, No.5 Brandon Nakashima), has Medvedev seeing a clear path to what would be his 21st ATP title, and first since he triumphed in Rome, in the spring of 2023.
«When the field opens up you always feel that you have the chance, but as we saw in Shanghai, it is not always the most important,» Medvedev said when asked about the fact that he’s the highest-ranked player left in the draw, by far. «I know if I play well I have a chance to win this tournament.»
If the former world No.1 can continue to serve like he did on Friday, his chances for victory are good. He connected on 81 percent of his first serves against Marozsan, which is his third highest percentage in a best-of-three set match in his career.
«I served really well today,» Medvedev said. «When I needed to step up I managed to step up, so I hope to continue playing this way.»
Though the improvement in the stroke appears drastic, Medvedev says that he has not changed much about his serve since he began working with his new coach Thomas Johansson after the US Open. It’s just the little details that are making the difference, he says.
«I would say for sure we work on small things but there is no magic, it’s not like they told me one thing and I was like ‘Wow’, and it made me serve better,» Medvedev said in his post-match press conference. «It’s more in general that I am playing better and when you play better you know that your first shot after the serve is better, so you are less nervous on your serve, whereas if you don’t feel well you are like ‘If the ball is coming back what do I do?’»
For Medvedev, who cracked 27 winners against just 12 unforced errors against Marozsan, the conditions in Almaty have allowed him to focus on precision rather than pace.
«It’s a mix of everything and for sure the altitude here helps, because you can see in every match that whenever the serve is precise – not even strong – it’s tough to return it, so you don’t have to go full power, compared to somewhere like Shanghai, for example,» he said. «For sure when you don’t go full power you can gain a higher percentage, and that was the case for both of us today.»
14th-ranked Medvedev will face Aussie James Duckworth in the semifinals on Saturday, as he tries to reach his first hard court final since 2024 Indian Wells. He owns a 1-0 lifetime record against the 138-ranked Aussie.
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14.11.2025
KTF press-service
