Routine of a Grand Slam Contender

Scott Webster shares his practice experience with Daniil Medvedev during the Australian Open 2022

As a tennis player and coach I have always wondered how the big players manage their bodies throughout a grand slam, and how is it possible to maintain intensity, physicality and focus during a best of 5 sets tournament. During Australian Open 2022, one of the most memorable grand slams for good and bad reasons, I had the opportunity to be around the world's greatest players as they embarked on their grand slam missions. Throughout the 4 weeks of the AO summer I was able to hit with Murray, Medvedev, Tsitsipas and countless other top ranked professionals.

I was extremely fortunate to hit with Daniil on a day to day basis, as a match warm up and a practice partner on his days off. What was fascinating to see was how simple and effective each of his practices were, making sure he was ticking the boxes that would give him the best chance of winning his next match. Every practice had the same routine; general warm up, middle, cross courts, volleys, serve & return and a particular skill to finish with. Before Kyrgios I was hitting serves at the service line full tilt (either my serve is really slow or Nick's really is that fast), meanwhile before Maxime Cressy we finished the session with some transition and passing shot games.

As simple as these sessions seem, they have a lot of substance to them. They each emulate skills that he would be implementing the next day and finishing with specifics provided him with a feeling of comfortableness and confidence for the upcoming match. As I am right handed I was unable to assist with his match warm ups with Rafa, but I know there was a big focus on dealing with Rafa’s short backhand slice down the line, which he uses to force opponents to lift up on the ball before he spreads them to opposite tram line with his forehand. In the first two sets Rafa was using this short slice backhand down the line, which Medvedev was handling very well.

I don’t want to harp on about what each top player does really well and what Medvedev does every minute of his practice, but I do find it interesting how he kept a practice routine throughout his AO run. Some people call it superstitious but I think in general people feel most comfortable doing what they know and doing it with who they know well. At AO 2022 I was lucky I hit well enough with Daniil at the start of the tournament and was requested to continue hitting with him for the duration of the tournament. Sometimes I find coaches and players try and adapt their game styles too much for certain opponents which takes them out of their comfort zone, whereas players like Medvedev stick to their guns and familiarize themselves with skills that can combat their opponents weapons.

Duration of practice is not how players improve, rather the focus and intensity of the practice. Hitting a million balls on an off day does nothing but impact a player, so it is important to be specific and sharp. The players who go deep in slams are those who are able to keep a consistent and balanced schedule that allows them to reset physically and psychologically after each match. This reset allows them to treat each round as the most important match, using their off day to prepare their body and skills to win it.

You can follow Scott on Instagram and keep up with his tennis journey.