Daniil Medvedev takes on Jannik Sinner in a very high-profile final at the 2023 ABN ATP Amro Open in Rotterdam. One player is coming off a title in Montpellier; the other would really like to take this one to get himself going this season. Who do you think comes out on top?
ATP Rotterdam Final Prediction
Daniil Medvedev vs Jannik Sinner
Head-to-head: Medvedev 4-0
While Daniil Medvedev managed to clinch a couple of titles in 2022 (Los Cabos and Vienna), the former World No. 1 generally hasn’t been at his best since the Australian Open final and his brutal loss to Rafael Nadal. It was especially visible in how easily he went down to Sebastian Korda in Melbourne this year, but the Russian does seem to be picking his form up this week. The slow indoor courts in Rotterdam weren’t really favorable for him in the past, but this time they helped him easily neutralize the power of Grigor Dimitrov and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Jannik Sinner is entering the final on a 7-match win streak, which includes a title at Montpellier seven days ago. He struggled early in Rotterdam against Benjamin Bonzi, dropping his first set of the week just like Medvedev did. It wasn’t long until the 21-year-old got fired up again though, dominating Stefanos Tsitsipas and Stan Wawrinka before taking out the in-form Tallon Griekspoor in the semifinals.
Sinner has already overcome one unpleasant head-to-head (used to be 1-5 versus Tsitsipas), and now he gets to try himself in another. Medvedev leads the rivalry 4-0, which is especially relevant as all of their matches took place indoors. One of them, a third rubber at the 2021 ATP Finals, was extremely close, but a couple were also relatively straightforward.
Given his current form, Sinner should have his best chance yet to grab a win over such a tricky rival. This matchup might have already produced some mental scars for the 21-year-old though. Slow indoor hard courts are his forte, but it wasn’t enough in their previous match in Vienna. The Russian thrives in these conditions too. Sinner will need to produce some violent hitting while keeping the error count low and that’s usually tough to achieve against a defender like Medvedev.
Prediction: Medvedev in 3
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey USAToday
