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If something surprised more than the portentous game deployed by Daniil Medvedev in the final of the US Open was his amazing imperturbability during the almost five hours of fighting against Rafa Nadal. The poise with which he faced the decisive points is one of the great achievements of his coach, Gilles Cervara, determined that the Russian will face the moments of crisis without succumbing to anger. Daniil's coaching staff also highlights the presence of Francisca Dauzet, a sports psychologist who has transmitted the values ​​of Shaolin warriors' philosophy.

"Daniil has a special form of genius," said this French doctor, the only member of the Medvedev team who accompanied Cervara during these two weeks in New York, on Sunday at L'Equipe . His notebook, where he used to collect skating and BMX skating notes, is now one of the most useful tools for the great revelation of summer at the ATP.

Because of this, the figure of Dauzet was one of the most persecuted by journalists in Flushing Meadows. "It's not magic, I'm not a guru," he stressed at the ESPN about his methodology, in principle far removed from that of Pepe Imaz, one of Novak Djokovic's collaborators.

"very big and complex" mind

After a year of collaboration, the results on the track support the work of Dauzet. Nine finals, four titles (Winston Salem, Tokyo, Sofia and Cincinatti) and a progression of more than 15 positions in the ATP ranking, to the current 'number four'.

"He has greatly improved his mental control," revealed the psychologist about the new prodigy of the circuit. "His mind is very large and complex, similar to a computer. He is able to join all the points in a second," he analyzed. However, the essence of their method dates back many centuries before supercomputers.

Meditation techniques

Dauzet is a student of the ancient procedures of Chinese medicine, including meditation techniques. In this regard, he feels a special predilection for Shaolin monks, known for preserving one of the oldest and most respected forms of kung fu.

"When a Shaolin fights, he never gets distracted by anything that happens around him. He only feels and focuses on the things that happen," says Dauzet in the aforementioned encounter with the ESPN. In view of what happened on Sunday at Arthur Ashe, it seems that these lessons have penetrated deep into the spirit of Medvedev.

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