Norrie's Analysis: The Djokovic Nightmare, Medvedev's 45-Second Flashes & More
Cameron Norrie has enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2021, winning his first ATP Tour title in Los Cabos and capturing his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown at Indian Wells.
The Briton fell just short of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals, but he is in Italy as the second alternate. On Monday, the lefty analysed the Turin field and the first alternate, Jannik Sinner.
Novak Djokovic
I think there’s no real game plan with Novak. He has such a complete game, moves so well, you can’t get the ball past him. I also think his first serve is very underrated. He’s a nightmare to play. I’ve never played him, but if I were to play him, it would be a nightmare.
I haven’t thought about [a game plan] too much, but he’s pretty good [with his] first serve [and first] ball, he’s pretty good in long rallies and he moves exceptionally well. He’s probably the best mover on Tour and his backhand is insane as well, so it’s tough. He’s a very good player.
Daniil Medvedev
Medvedev is tricky because he serves from a tree and his service games usually last 45 seconds. Then you still have to serve and you’re playing 10-minute games, Deuce, Ad-in, Deuce, Ad-in.
You finally hold and you’re back serving again within 45 seconds because he’s got a great serve. But he’s very consistent from the baseline and he plays very deep.
Alexander Zverev
I think he’s a little bit more aggressive than Medvedev, but also has a big first serve and he can do everything with his backhand side. He can go backhand [down the] line, backhand crosscourt. He has a decent slice and more recently he’s been coming forward a bit more and is also a very complete player. When he’s looking for the forehand and has a bit of time on that side, he’s dangerous.
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Especially in slow conditions, he’s very tricky. He can look for his forehand. He’s got one of the best forehands in the world and can hit all parts of the court. I also think his first serve is very underrated. His backhand is tricky because he can get quite a lot of height and depth on it. That’s tough, and I think he really defends the forehand well.
He’s also a very complete player, and I would say he’s maybe got the best volleys in the world right now, if not [he is in the] top three. He knows when to come forward and he sneaks forward very well. He has pretty good hands.
Andrey Rublev
I would say he has the best forehand in the world and his serve has improved a lot. When he’s returning your second serve, he’s extremely dangerous. It’s tough when you play him, because he never gives up any room on the baseline and he’s tough to push back.
It’s really tough to get him moving and be the one being aggressive and dictating play, because he’s so high up on the baseline, which makes him very tricky. His serve has improved a lot and his backhand [has as well], so he’s very solid. Also, when he has a bit of time on his forehand, he’s tough and very accurate.
Matteo Berrettini
Matteo has a huge serve, he can hit all the spots. He maybe has the best second serve in the world and he’s tricky as well. When he’s got time on the forehand [he can hit huge] and he can mix in the drop shot off the backhand as well to throw you off on both sides, the backhand as well. I think he covers his backhand quite well and mixes in his slice quite a lot to neutralise the point and then use his forehand to dictate play from there.
He’s a great athlete and he competes very well. I spent a bit of time with him at Laver Cup and watching his matches, he was always playing the biggest points of the match on his terms and coming up with some very good stuff. He is also a pretty complete player.
Hubert Hurkacz
I actually haven’t seen Hubi too much, so I can’t comment that much. But he’s got an exceptional serve and he plays a little bit like Medvedev in my opinion. He uses the slice quite well and comes forward a little bit more than Medvedev.
His backhand is tricky because it’s tough to read. He can switch [down the] line and hit the inside-out backhand at times. I haven’t played him before, I haven’t practised too much with him, but he’s had an incredible year and definitely deserves to be in this event.
Casper Ruud
Casper has proven he can play on all surfaces. His ball speed is very heavy and his forehand is great. He can get away from rallying too much with his backhand by using his movement. He can get around his backhand with his forehand side and he can hit all parts of the court with the forehand.
He has a pretty good slice as well and finds the court quite deep with the slice and is a great competitor all around. He’s had a very consistently good year, going deep on all surfaces, in all events. He also deserves to be here. He’s had a great year.
Jannik Sinner
I always try to practise with him as much as I can. He hits the ball bigger than anyone off both sides. I think he moves very well and he is always planting off the outside leg, so he can recover from his strokes very efficiently. It’s tough because he hits the ball so big that you can’t get much rhythm.
Getting him moving is tricky. He takes the cover off the ball on both sides. I think he hits the ball probably one of the biggest in the world off both sides. His ball speed is probably the fastest in the world.