Shanghai
Medvedev at crossroads: exploring his ‘adult career’
20-time tour-level champion reveals coaching changes, more
October 11, 2025
Fred Lee/Getty Images
Daniil Medvedev comes to Shanghai with a 30-20 season record.
Written by ATP Staff
Editor’s note: This feature on Daniil Medvedev was originally published on October 4.
Daniil Medvedev has not lost his enthusiasm. He’s just looking for another spark.
At 29, the 20-time tour-level champion is at a crossroads in his career, looking to regain the confidence and stability that helped him achieve world number one in the PIF ATP Rankings, among other things. Medvedev is doing just that, and there are new voices on his side.
Medvedev has played 50 matches without lifting a trophy since winning five titles in Rome in the first five months of 2023, recently parting ways with long-time coach Gilles Cervara. He currently collaborates with Thomas Johansson and Rohan Goetzke.
“It was not an easy decision,” the 2021 US Open champion told ATP Media at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, which he won in 2019. “But at the same time, I’m 29 and I’m about to be 30, and [I wanted] Trying something new in my adult career. Because even when we started with Giles, I was so young that I was kind of stuck with my parents. The college I went to was the School of Design [my team]…It was good to do it on my own because it was a new thing in my life. “
Cervara has been a steady presence in Medvedev’s dugout since his debut on the ATP Tour. But after winning just one match in the four majors this year, Medvedev did not touch a racket for two weeks and announced his breakup with Cervala during this period. Medvedev embraced a new mentality during his coaching search.
“When you are 20 and when you are 30, you look for different things,” Medvedev added in an exclusive interview with ATPTour.com. “Because when you are 20 years old, you are still a young tennis player, so you probably need someone to show you the way. When you are 30, what you need is not someone to show you the way, but to help you find the way again.”
Medvedev knows exactly what he wants from his team.
“It needs to be someone who listens to you. I think that’s very important in coaching,” he said. “We definitely need someone that we can get along with. Now I’ve found that in Thomas and Lohan, and it’s great. We have a lot of fun on the court and we have fun off the court. If they need to tell you something, they’re not afraid to tell me.”
The combination of no-nonsense intensity and playful intelligence has long defined the unpredictable Medvedev. After losing in the first round of the U.S. Open, Medvedev threw six rackets at courtside fans and had recently destroyed another racket from a courtside chair. It’s a chaotic scene that’s equally telling. Medvedev has reached a boiling point.
“It was just a little bit of desperation,” Medvedev recalled. “At the same time I thought, ‘The fans might like it’. There was actually a racquet left in the bag and I didn’t know it. I’m definitely disappointed with the result, disappointed with how I felt on the court and how I performed on the court.
“I wanted to vent my frustration, probably not on the pitch, but I had cramps so I couldn’t stand up. It was definitely an act of desperation and a sign that I needed a fresh start.”
Medvedev arrived in Shanghai after playing in the semifinals in the Chinese capital, Beijing. His cramps forced him to withdraw from the ATP 500 against Learner Tien, but Medvedev is excited to start his campaign in his favorite tour-level event.
“Beijing is actually a big step and I need to take another step in Shanghai. I like China very much and I like coming here.
“Since I first got here, it’s always been our best tournament on tour if we win a Grand Slam,” the 16th seed said. “Of course it’s just my opinion, but this is my favorite event on tour. I love coming back here, so you can ask me anything. I’ll tell you a lot of good things, I love the facilities here, I love the course, I love everything around this place.”
Medvedev will face Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina in Shanghai on Saturday in his final match in the second stand, which this year is equipped with a new retractable roof.
