Medvedev set to battle against Sinner in the Wimbledon quarterfinal on Monday.
Daniil Medvedev spoke extremely highly of Jannik Sinner’s game ahead of their Wimbledon meeting but also warned the Italian tennis superstar that he “usually plays better against world No. 1s.”
On Sunday, Medvedev was expected to have a tough job against Grigor Dimitrov but their match came to an after just eight games and the Russian leading 5-3 because the Bulgarian retired the match following a nasty fall.
Medvedev may have survived the Dimitrov challenge without any drama but now he is set for the biggest test yet at Wimbledon – he is meeting top-seeded Sinner in the quarterfinal.
After recently winning his first grass title in Halle, Sinner – who is having a major season – has also won his opening four matches at Wimbledon and he is absolutely looking like a top favorite for the title. But when Medvedev meets Sinner on Monday, he will enter with the belief that he can become just the fourth player in 2024 to beat the Italian.
Last year, Medvedev easily lost to Carlos Alcaraz twice in their first two meetings of the year but defeated the Spaniard at the US Open while the 21-year-old was the top-ranked player in the world. In 2021, Novak Djokovic was the world No. 1 when the 28-year-old Russian won their 2021 US Open final for his first and lone Grand Slam title.
“I think, if I’m not mistaken, that statistically I usually play better against world No. 1s. Let’s see if it helps me against Jannik. His serve wasn’t as good before. Small details make a big difference in tennis. It’s definitely harder to play against him now than before. Again, as I said, the matches were close. I had my chances. I’ll try to take better advantage of them this time,” Medvedev said.
What Medvedev plans to do against Sinner?
Between 2020 Marseille and 2023 Miami, Medvedev won his first six meetings against Sinner. But then, Sinner completely changed their rivalry and went from being the one who doesn’t have answers for Medvedev to being the one who knows extremely well how to play against the 2021 US Open champion.
And after losing their last five meetings that came between 2023 Beijing and 2024 Miami, Medvedev admits he will try “something different” this time in his bid to end his five-match losing streak against the current world No. 1.
“We haven’t talked yet. But we practiced with Jannik here before the tournament. It was a great set,” Medvedev said.
“Look, the funny thing is that I lost five times. But if I remember correctly, four were very close. Was I unlucky or not? Even in Beijing, there were two tiebreaks. In Vienna, it was a pretty crazy match and in Turin, it was a close match. Then in Miami, he won easily, but I think I wasn’t far off, but he did a great job winning five times in a row.
“The first time we play on grass, I will definitely try to do something new. I hope to play well, the serve is important on grass. Either way, the more you serve, the better you feel. It will be important for both of us. I will try to surprise him and put him in trouble. He will definitely do the same. I hope it will be a good match. I will try to do my best to win.”
Sinner underlines one thing before the Medvedev meeting at Wimbledon
Sinner may be on a five-match winning streak against Medvedev but he highlights that it will be a new match when they clash against each other at Wimbledon.
For Sinner and Medvedev, this will be their second Slam meeting in 2024. At the start of the year, the Russian appeared to be heading toward earning his second Slam title but then the 22-year-old Italian came back from two sets down to win 3-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 6-3 and become a Major champion.
“I still think every match has its own story. I felt like in Australia we had two different matches in one match. It’s gonna be tough for both of us. I practiced with him earlier in the week. He was playing really well. It’s gonna be tough. I’m looking forward to it again. It’s a big challenge for me. This is what I practice for. Hopefully it’s gonna be a good match,” Sinner said.
Since Medvedev and Sinner are just now set for their first meeting on grass, it will be interesting to see if it can help the Russian in some ways to end his drought against the Italian.