Daniil Medvedev has endured a topsy-turvy season on the ATP Tour this year and might end the season without a title for the first time since 2018.
The Russian’s disjointed style has never really led to an overall year of completely fragmented form.
Starting the year with an appearance in the Australian Open final, Daniil Medvedev ended up losing from two sets up of the second consecutive year.
Nonetheless, with such an early statement of intent, Medvedev has only ever got within touching distance of a title.
Having picked up five titles in 2023, the Russian has unfortunately been unable to replicate those lofty heights and dropped down to fifth in the world.
In a year of ups and downs, Medvedev assessed exactly where he experienced his most challenging moment.
Daniil Medvedev laments ‘toughest’ moment this year
The unorthodox and quirky Russian can be slightly controversial figure on the tour, with his often bizarre, eccentric on-court antics.
Having suffered a slightly disappointing, yet incredibly long season on the ATP Tour, Medvedev reflected to Russian outlet More about the various highs and lows of his 2024 season.
Without hesitation, he said: “The toughest moment I think was the Olympics and switching from clay to hard court,” he explained, with two opening round exits at consecutive Masters events – Montreal and Cincinnati – coming immediately after Paris.
“The Australian Open was crazy. I could have lost in the second round, in the quarterfinals, and I should have lost in the semifinals. Miraculously I made the final and even played well in that match. It was just bad luck, I was exhausted, and Jannik played incredibly, something he continues to do these days. No regrets about the Australian Open.
Returning to the difficult surface changes he and in fact the entire tour was slightly conflicted over, he said: Then: clay, grass, clay, hard court. That transition from clay to hard was difficult for me. It took me a while to find my game, to understand how to make it harder for opponents.
“I couldn’t find it in Canada or Cincinnati, but I did at the US Open. It’s always a shame to lose the first match in two big tournaments where I normally play well, but it happens.”
Medvedev sailed into the quarter-finals in New York before facing eventual champion Sinner in what was a dress rehearsal for the final.
Taking a set off the Italian, Sinner won his next six in the semi-finals and final to lift the trophy, Medvedev held in 2021.
Where will we see Daniil Medvedev next?
While not an ATP-sanctioned event, the lucrative offer of a three-day trip to Saudi Arabia hasn’t been passed up by the Russian.
The Six Kings Slam is the latest arguably troubling Saudi intervention into tennis – an event Andy Murray claimed ‘nobody cares’ about.
Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, as well as Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are all set to feature alongside Medvedev at the inaugural event, with Holger Rune completing the start-studded line-up in Riyadh.
With a minimum earning of $1.5 million just for appearing, winning the event would see the 28-year-old pocket $6 million.
Not bad for a few days work!