"Inspiring new generations everywhere" - Daniil Medvedev expresses delight at video of young player emulating him with 'octopus-like' playing style

Daniil Medvedev recently expressed his elation at seeing a budding tennis player employ a similar playing style to his.

Medvedev has put together a good season in 2023, winning two ATP Masters 1000 titles in Miami and Rome and finishing as the runner-up at the 2023 US Open. He is currently resting after a grueling summer hardcourt swing in North America.

The 27-year-old has been spending much of his short break on social media. On Monday, September 18, he took to X (formerly Twitter) to react to a video of a young tennis player who displayed some unorthodox groundstrokes.

The youngster initiated the interaction as he tagged the 2021 US Open winner in a video, in which he can be seen hitting regulation shots during a training drill on a claycourt. While his forehand has a lasso-like swing, his backhand is the shot that was particularly interesting.

At one point in the video, the kid was pulled out wide, forcing him to hit a defensive backhand. His technique bore an uncanny resemblance with Medvedev's "octopus-like" shot, as he began his follow-through from waist-up and ended it near his feet.

Daniil Medvedev himself couldn't help but note the similarities between his and the aspiring youngster's game, as he jokingly replied:

"Inspiring new generations everywhere!"

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Daniil Medvedev has put together a great season in 2023

Daniil Medvedev poses with the 2023 Miami Open title

Daniil Medvedev has accumulated a 55-12 win-loss record in the 2023 season, with five titles and US $7.4 million in prize money.

The Russian's results this year have been in stark contrast to his 2022 season. Medvedev had a poor run of form last year, failing to back up his maiden Major triumph at the 2021 US Open. He was struggling with motivational issues and a herniated disc too, and managed to win just one title all year.

Since he didn't defend the majority of his points at the big tournaments in 2022, Medvedev fell outside of the top 10 rankings in February this year. The 27-year-old steadied the ship soon after though, as he won 24 of his 25 matches between the Rotterdam Open and the Miami Open.

He picked up four titles during this period, with his lone defeat coming at the hands of then-World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells. The Russian also gave a good account of himself during the European clay season, beating the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune, and Alexander Zverev en route to the ATP Masters 1000 title in Rome.

Daniil Medvedev then lost early at the 2023 French Open, but that proved to be an outlier. The World No. 3 subsequently reached the semifinals of Wimbledon and the final of the US Open, losing to Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic respectively.