“Sometimes I don’t recognise him anymore” – Bublik talks about Medvedev’s incredible transformation from younger days to elite talent

UTS stars Nick Kyrgios and Alexander Bublik sat down for dinner in London in the latest instalment of the ‘All on the Table’ series

Daniil Medvedev, Wimbledon, 2024 © Action Plus / Panoramic

Chris Oddo

July 11, 2024

There was a time when Daniil Medvedev preferred partying to practice, and it showed in his ranking.

Flash back to 2016 when the Russian was still outside the top-100 and not really that concerned with what was going to happen next.

In the latest edition of “All on the Table” a UTS talk show, featuring Patrick Mouratoglou, Nick Kyrgios and Alexander Bublik, we hear stories about Medvedev then, and Medvedev now.

He switched – now he’s a beast

Bublik talks about how Medvedev has changed as a competitor and a professional over the years. The talented Kazkahstani recalls a moment in Moscow, in 2016, when Medvedev was waiting for him to lose his match to Pablo Carreno Busta so the two could go out and party.

“But he switched,” Bublik says. “I was staying with him in the same room, it was from, I think, 16 years old. It was 2016, and he lost in quarter-finals in Kremlin Cup against Stephane Robert (Medvedev was ranked123, Robert was 52).

“I’m playing [Pablo] Carreno Busta. I beat Roberto Bautista Augut in the second round, it was my first big win. So I was over the moon.

“In the third set I look at my box, and Daniil is sitting there. I’m saying ‘What are you doing here,’ and he says ‘I’m waiting for you, when you when you lose, we are going to go to party.’”

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Bublik says that was a typical occurrence at the time.

“We had good parties with him all the time,” he adds.

But not anymore.

“But then, a certain moment, he switched and he said, ‘I’m gonna be the top player,’ and then he became a player,” Bublik says, adding that Medvedev is now completely transformed as a professional, even if he is the same person deep down. “He’s a beast. He decided to go full with tennis and he achieved it within two, three years – he became a top-10 player.

“Sometimes I don’t recognize him anymore, because he’s so different. Not as a person – he’s just dialled in. In terms of his athleticism and dedication, it’s insane. He achieved it very quickly, and that’s actually a good example for some people who doubt themselves and say okay.