Norrie Analysis: Djokovic’s Nightmare, Medvedev’s 45 Second Flash & More | ATP Tour

Cameron Norrie had a breakout year in 2021, winning his first ATP Tour championship in Los Cabos and winning his first ATP Masters 1000 championship at Indian Wells.

Britons are not eligible for Nitto ATP Finals, but he is in Italy as a second substitute. On Monday, the left analyzed the Turin pitch and the first substitute pitch, Jannik Sinner.

Novak Djokovic
There is no real game plan with Novak I think. He has a complete game, moves so well, you can’t get past him. I also think his first serve is very underrated. He is a nightmare to play. I’ve never played him, but if I did 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 service [and first] On the ball, he plays quite well in long periods of concentration and he moves exceptionally well. He’s probably the best move on the Tour and his backhand is crazy too, so it’s tough. He is a very good player.

Daniil Medvedev
Medvedev is difficult because he serves from the tree and his serve games usually last 45 seconds. Then you still have to serve and you are playing 10 Minutes, Deuce, Ad-in, Deuce, Ad-in games.

In the end you hold and you will serve again within 45 seconds because he has a great serve. But he was very consistent from the start and played very deep.

Alexander Zverev
I think he’s a bit more aggressive than Medvedev, but also has a big first serve and he can do everything with his backhand. He can hit backhand [down the] pass, backhand cross. He’s got a good slice and he’s improved a little bit lately and is also a very complete player. When he’s looking for forehand and has some time on that side, he’s dangerous.

Stefanos Tsitsipas
Especially in slow conditions, he is very tricky. He can look for his forehand. He has one of the best greetings in the world and can hit all areas of the court. I also think his first serve is very underrated. His backhand is tough as he can pretty much get its height and depth. It’s tough, and I think he really defends his forehand well.

He is also a very complete player, and I would say he could have some of the best volleys in the world right now, if not [he is in the] Top third. He knows when to move forward and he sneaks forward very well. He has pretty good hands.

Andrey Rublev
I can say that he has the best forehand in the world and his serve has improved a lot. When he returns your second serve, he is extremely dangerous. It’s tough when you play him, because he never gives up any space on the base lane and he’s hard to push back.

It’s really hard to get him to move and be aggressive and command the play, because he’s so high at baseline which makes him very tricky. His serve has improved a lot and his backhand [has as well], so he’s very sure. Also, when he has a bit of a forehand time, he’s tough and very precise.

Matteo Berrettini
Matteo has a huge serve, he can hit every point. He might have the best second serve in the world and he’s also very tricky. When he has a forehand time [he can hit huge] and he can coordinate with the backhand to throw you both sides, backhand as well. I think he covers the backhand pretty well and coordinates his slice quite a lot to nullify the point and then uses his forehand to control the play from there.

He’s a great athlete and he plays really well. I spent some time with him at Laver Cup And watching his games, he always plays the biggest points of the game to his terms and comes up with some really cool stuff. He’s also a pretty complete player.

Hubert Hurkacz
Actually, I haven’t watched Hubi much, so I can’t comment that much. But he has a special serve and he plays a bit like Medvedev in my opinion. He uses the cut quite well and is a bit more forward than Medvedev.

His backhand is hard because it’s hard to read. He can convert [down the] sometimes hit the backhand from the inside out. I haven’t played against him before, nor have I practiced too much with him, but he’s had an incredible year and definitely deserves to be in the event.

Casper Ruud
Casper has proven that he can play on any surface. His ball speed is heavy and his forehand is great. He can get away with focusing too much on his backhand using his movement. He can hit his backhand with his forehand and he can hit all parts of the court with his forehand.

He has a pretty good slice and finds the yard pretty deep with the slice and is a great opponent all around. He’s had a very good year consistently, 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 practice with him as much as possible. He hits the ball bigger than anyone on either side. I think he moves very well and he always plants his foot outside, so he can recover from his shots very efficiently. It was difficult because he hit the ball so big that you couldn’t catch the beat much.

Making him move is difficult. He covers the ball on both sides. I think he hit the ball that is probably one of the biggest in the world on either side. His dribbling speed is probably the fastest in the world.