Daniil Medvedev hasnt won a single title so far this season and many claim that he is now far from the current top players. Although he still occupies a very high position in the ATP ranking, the Russian champion has suffered a lot this year and suffered several defeats against the current masters of the professional tour.
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After reaching the final at the Australian Open in early 2024, where he lost a two-set lead against Jannik Sinner, the player from Moscow has not expressed himself at his best level except at the Wimbledon Championships.Daniil suffered several clear defeats against Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner, who were the great dominators of the ATP tour this season. The 2021 US Open champion suffers a lot from the style of play of the Spaniard, who beat him in the final of the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, in the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Championships and in the semifinal of the ATP in Beijing.
The rivalry between Medvedev and Sinner has also changed a lot in the last year. The Russian ace had dominated the early part of their rivalry, but Jannik has made a huge leap in the last twelve months and won seven of the last eight matches played against each other.
Medvedev needs rest
While not in the official statistics, it is worth remembering that Daniil was literally humiliated by the worlds number 1 at the 'Six Kings Slam' in Saudi Arabia this week. The former world number 1 has few tournaments to save a season that cannot be considered satisfactory for a player of his caliber.
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Meanwhile, the ATP 500 in Vienna loses pieces. After the already known for weeks of the world number one Jannik Sinner, in the last hours another has arrived, from a ninety piece of the circuit. It is Daniil Medvedev, fresh participant in the Six Kings Slam, where he lost in the first round just from the Italian tennis player. The defeat against the Italian left not only on the morale of the Muscovite, who appeared particularly nervous during the match, but also on his body.
The Russian will miss the Erste Bank Open due to shoulder problems, as shown on the social profiles of the tournament. His replacement in the table will be young American Alex Michelsen. The Austrian tournament, won last year by Sinner, will have a respectable parterre of Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur, Grigor Dimitrov and Tommy Paul.
The latest statements by Medvedev on the rivalry between Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have made a lot of noise. The Russian ace after a hard beating against the Italian ace, eighth in the last nine matches, expressed his point of view: "I have never played against someone who has played a performance like Jannik.
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I couldnt do anything. I didnt know what to do. I usually think of him as a more consistent player, similar to a machine. While Alcaraz for example is a little more swing, with some shots of more class. When Carlos is at his best, I thought he was slightly better than Sinner. But after this match I changed my mind," he said.
Recently, the Russian ace also spoke about Sinners doping case: My point of view is to try to keep my distance, as the situation is very tough for him to handle. Nobody wants to be in that situation. I can't imagine receiving an email saying I failed a doping test for whatever reason, cocaine or whatever drug you don't even know the name of.
It's like... 'Wow, what do I do now?'. Because I have no idea what's in my pee, my blood, or whatever. It's a complicated situation. He does what he has to do, and WADA does what they have to do. We'll see how it ends. We thought it was all over, and it isn't. I stand with Carlos, on Jannik's side. I don't think this will affect the image of tennis.
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An important off-season
The feeling is that Medvedev will have to work hard during the off-season to close the gap between him and Jannik and Carlitos. The former world number 1 must improve his skills even outside of the hard courts, where he no longer has the margin that he had until a few years ago.
The weapons of the Russian ace are known to all by now and - if he does not succeed in completing it - he will hardly be able to add another Grand Slam title to his bulletin board. The 2025 Australian Open will give us more precise indications on Daniils future prospects.
