Daniil Medvedev has said some of his rivals at the top of the game are simply better than him
Ahead of the second Grand Slam of the year, Daniil Medvedev has said that he recognises that several other men at the top of the tour are better than him and have more chance to add to their trophy hauls.
“I think in every sport you can see it where you are up against someone really strong, and the moment you think maybe they become weaker, or at least you feel like it, there are new guys coming that try to beat you, and manage it to do it sometimes,” he said in an interview with the official Roland-Garros website.
“For me it’s a big challenge to try to beat these guys, Novak, Rafa is still there – I wanted to say only Novak, but no, Rafa is back, let’s see how far he can go.
“Jannik, Carlos, Novak, I feel like they are all better than me, if we talk about peak performance; so for me it’s a big challenge to try to beat them when I play them. I’m happy to take this challenge and make a big improvement on myself when I manage to beat them.”
When it comes to head-to-head records, Alcaraz leads the Russian 4-2, while Djokovic leads 10-5 – although Medvedev edges his encounters with Sinner 6-5. However, one of Sinner’s victories, the 2024 Australian Open final, will linger in Medvedev’s memory as a match during which he gave his best and still could not win.
“Australian Open was peak of my peak, yes, I was tired physically, this, that, and maybe I would win if I would not be tired, but this is if. The fact is I was at my peak and I didn’t win,” he explained.
Medvedev is the defending champion in Rome and faces Jack Draper in the second round on Saturday.