World No. 11 Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev has shared his perspective on why tennis might appear unusual to newcomers, illustrating his point with an anecdote from a stand-up comedian.
When asked how he would describe tennis to someone unfamiliar with the sport in just one sentence, Medvedev responded:
“I would say `strange,` and I can explain why. I recently watched a stand-up routine where the comedian described his first tennis experience with a friend. The comedian recounted, `My friend wins a point, the score is 15-love. What, already? Just like that?` Then his friend wins another point, making it 30-love, to which he thought, `Okay, I`m starting to understand.`”
Medvedev continued, “Then, when his friend won a third point, the comedian was puzzled, `45-love? No, 40-love. And after the next rally, the score is suddenly 1-0. So, tennis can seem strange to someone who hasn`t grasped it yet, but once you get into it, it becomes a lot of fun.” This explanation from Medvedev was reported by Overtime Tennis on social media.
It`s believed Medvedev was referencing a performance by Vanya Usovich.
