Jannik Sinner’s meteoric rise in the last 15 months has made him the best player in the world and separated him from the rest of the tour. Daniil Medvedev has been hurt the most in the process.
Until March 2023, Medvedev held a 6-0 lead against Sinner. However, Sinner has turned the tide, won eight of the last nine matches, and now leads the head-to-head 8-7. To go from never winning to a positive head-to-head in a little more than a year is mind-boggling. It reminds me of Roger Federer vs Lleyton Hewitt. Federer was 2-7 against Hewitt at the start of 2004 but ended that season 8-7 against him.
Sinner’s winning run initially consisted of beating Medvedev in Beijing, Vienna, the ATP Finals and the Australian Open, but all of those matches were at least closely contested. After that (except Wimbledon) it’s been complete domination from Sinner.
I feel bad for Medvedev because he had a bad 2024 season by his standards and has had so much trouble with Sinner this year. This matchup has hurt the Russian a lot, and what’s worse is that Sinner is humiliating him on his best surface.
Sinner’s head-to-head shift against Medvedev is fascinating
Six Kings Slam Match
Exhibition matches don’t count on the official head-to-head, but I don’t believe any exhibition has ever been taken as seriously as the Six Kings Slam, which took place in Riyadh in October of this year. A lot of money was at stake and players took the matches seriously. Sinner faced off against Medvedev and played more aggressively than usual, and that ended up hurting Medvedev even more. Medvedev was helpless the whole match.
Medvedev, after the match, said:
“I’ve never played against someone who played like Jannik Sinner today. It was a tough feeling on the court because I was feeling good, I was fighting well, and physically I felt good. My tennis wasn’t that bad, and I lost easily, which I don’t remember the last time this happened.”
Medvedev is still quite competitive. We are talking about a top-five player. This year, he reached a Grand Slam final, a semifinal, and a quarterfinal, always losing against the winner. The issue is that his best surface now has a different master.
As long as Sinner is in the same tournament, it will be hard for Medvedev to win. Sinner has improved a lot in the last year, while Medvedev’s game hasn’t evolved much. Sinner now does almost everything better than him. Medvedev will need to make some significant changes in 2025 to have a chance to beat Sinner. The current level and game style are not proving enough.
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey – USA TODAY Sports
