Daniil Medvedev has played against both Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in his resurgence this year.
Medvedev is currently fourth in the race to the ATP Finals, which he has achieved after winning two ATP titles, reaching the Indian Wells final and now the semifinals of the Italian Open.
The former world number one was also the first player this year to beat Alcaraz, who lost to Medvedev at Indian Wells.
However, Medvedev is yet to beat Sinner this year, and after losing to the world number one in the Italian Open semifinals he compared himself to the two best players on the ATP Tour right now.
Daniil Medvedev admits there’s still ‘a big gap’ between himself and Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
Medvedev has lost to Sinner twice so far this year, being beaten in two tie-break sets at Indian Wells, and losing a close-fought three set match in Rome.
When speaking to Bolshe after his exit from the Italian Open, Medvedev was asked to compare himself to Sinner and Alcaraz.
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While Medvedev was happy with the way he has been able to compete with both Sinner and Alcaraz, he admitted that there was still a big gap in terms of consistency and he stated his goal to improve this going forward.
“There’s still a big gap in terms of consistency, but it’s encouraging that in these specific matches…I’ve played them three times this year, I managed to beat Carlos and the matches with Jannik have been really close,” said Medvedev.
“In Indian Wells, I could have taken at least a set and here I did win a set and was relatively close in the third.
“But obviously they are more consistent and just playing better overall, but it’s still nice to know that I can compete at that level. My goal now is to bring this kind of tennis to all my other matches so I can keep setting up these meetings with them.”
Daniil Medvedev explains what Jannik Sinner does even better on clay
Medvedev’s defeat to Sinner in Rome was the 17th meeting between the two players, but it was actually the first time they have met on clay.
When asked about the differences in playing Sinner on clay, Medvedev claimed that the world number one actually moves better on the surface compared to hard and grass.
“Well, obviously his game is quite similar on every surface, but I’d say he might actually move even better [on clay] than on other courts, potentially,” said Medvedev.
“But you do get a few more chances, because his shots don’t skid through the court quite as fast, so it kind of balances out.
“While you might have a better chance at reaching his shots, the same goes for him, because of how well he moves, and he can outplay you because of that. So it wasn’t like anything felt completely different out there on clay.”
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Medvedev will now begin his preparations for Roland Garros, where he will be the seventh seed.
The 30-year-old lost in the first round of Roland Garros last year, with Medvedev achieving his best result in 2021 when he reached the quarterfinals.
