The coach of tennis star Daniil Medvedev, Gilles Cervara, was spotted praying in the stands during the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday. Medvedev endured a torrid two opening sets in Melbourne up against Emil Ruusuvuori, with an upset firmly on the cards.
Ruusuvuori hit the ground running against Medvedev, taking the first set 6-3 after 42 minutes. The Finn never looked in trouble against the two-time Melbourne finalist, forcing numerous unforced errors from his opponent.
The pressure continued to mount on Medvedev in the second set as well, with Ruusuvuori taking it 7-6 after throwing away an early lead and having to force an eventual tiebreak. The continual errors only intensified matters, with Medvedev growing more and more frustrated with every point dropped.
Feeling under the cosh, Medvedev turned to his coach Cervara on several occasions during the second set – which only irritated him further. The pair made numerous frustrated gestures at one another throughout the early stages of the set, whilst Ruusuvuori remained calm and composed throughout.
At one stage, Carvara was shown praying during the latter stages of the second set, though his pleas went unanswered as Medvedev struggled to keep his emotions under control whilst Ruusuvuori fought back to take a commanding advantage.
After leaving the court for an extended break before the third set, Medvedev returned with a new-found belief though, taking the third set 6-4 to show that he would not be going down without a fight, despite the clock ticking past 2am in Melbourne.
Speaking about the world No. 3’s behaviour to his box, former superstar Tim Henman told Eurosport that he felt that Medvedev was ‘showing his vulnerabilities’ when turning to Cervara for advice after making costly unforced errors and that the 27-year-old appeared to be searching for ‘very basic coaching advice’.
In contrast, Ruusuvuori was praised for remaining consistent and solid with his returns, not attempting anything out of the ordinary and therefore allowing Medvedev to ‘beat himself’ during the opening two sets in Melbourne. The Finnish star is well aware of the threat that Medvedev can pose when at his very best.
He said before the match: “Sometimes in his service games there’s nothing you can do. It’s just like four serves, and then you go to your service games, and you have to fight every point, it could be very long rallies.
“That’s his tactic, he tries to just make you miserable in your service games, and then tries to go as fast as he can in his. That can get very tricky if you’re not very alert and ready to do what it takes to get your own service games.”
