Daniil Medvedev reached a later stage at the Italian Open than world number three Alexander Zverev.
Medvedev has won two ATP titles, reached the Indian Wells final, and now the Italian Open semifinal.
As a result, this has enabled him to break back into the top 10 of the ATP rankings this year, and Medvedev will be one of many players hoping to take advantage of Carlos Alcaraz’s absence from Roland Garros.
After Medvedev was beaten by Jannik Sinner in the Italian Open semifinals, he was asked if he feels like the third best player in the world right now.
Daniil Medvedev suggests Alexander Zverev is much better than him right now
Medvedev is currently the world number nine, but he is fourth in the race to the ATP Finals behind only Sinner, Alcaraz and Zverev, with the latter losing in the fourth round of the Italian Open.
Despite getting further than Zverev in Rome, Medvedev appeared content with his current position in the race and admitted that the German’s results were generally much better than his.
Can anyone now stop Jannik Sinner from winning Roland Garros after Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal?
If yes, who?
“In Rome maybe. In Monte-Carlo, no (smiling),” Medvedev said in his press conference when asked about his level right now. “I’m just trying my best. I think in the race I would probably think I’m fourth behind Zverev and the two guys (smiling).
“Just trying my best and I’ll see in the end. You know, the goal for sure is to be in Turin. Before I was kind of I’m playing good, I’m in Turin. Last year I was not there. Goal is to try to be in Turin, try to keep up the level that I managed to find both in Madrid and Rome.
“In Madrid I played good, but lost to [Flavio] Cobolli, who played a great match. Try to repeat the same in Roland Garros. Try to play well on grass.
“If I finish No.3, I will feel amazing [about] the year. But we’re far from there. Sascha is playing unreal, actually much better than me in terms of results. I’m happy to be No. 4 at the moment.”
While he was able to do better than the current world number three in Rome, Medvedev is right in that Zverev has generally produced better results than him so far this year.
The Italian Open is the first tournament at Grand Slam or Masters 1000 level this year where Zverev has failed to reach at least the semifinal, whereas Medvedev has already done that four times in 2026.
| Grand Slam/Masters 1000 tournament in 2026 | Alexander Zverev’s result | Daniil Medvedev’s result |
| Australian Open | Semifinal | Fourth Round |
| Indian Wells | Semifinal | Final |
| Miami Open | Semifinal | Third Round |
| Monte Carlo Masters | Semifinal | Second Round |
| Madrid Open | Final | Fourth Round |
| Italian Open | Fourth Round | Semifinal |
Where will Daniil Medvedev be ranked after the Italian Open?
Due to his run at the Italian Open, Medvedev has overtaken Arthur Fils to become fourth in the race to the ATP Finals and he will also see a boost in his ranking when they are updated after the tournament.
Medvedev will now be back up to world number eight, which ensures that he will be the seventh seed at Roland Garros.
Who will win the Italian Open final?
Jannik Sinner vs Casper Ruud
The Russian will have big opportunities to continue climbing up the rankings after his run in Rome, particularly at the Grand Slams.
Medvedev did not win a single match at Roland Garros, Wimbledon or the US Open last year, and therefore he is only likely to gain points at his next three major tournaments.
Roland Garros is next on the horizon for Medvedev, with his best previous result at the clay court major coming in 2021 when he reached the quarterfinals.
