“He’s definitely getting closer” – How Medvedev has maintained his dominance over rising Sinner

Daniil Medvedev holds a 6-0 edge over Jannik Sinner in the pair’s head-to-head. After his victory over Sinner in Sunday’s Miami final, he did his best to explain the advantage he holds.

Daniil Medvedev 2023 Miami Open | AI / Reuters / Panoramic

Chris Oddo

April 3, 2023

A quick glance at the lifetime head-to-head between Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev and one word comes to mind: domination. Six wins and zero losses for the Russian, including victories in their two meetings in 2023, in high-stakes finals at Rotterdam and Miami.

It’s not as simple as it looks, says Medvedev. The Russian says that he can feel his advantage against Sinner when they face each other, but he adds that the Italian is already “stepping up” and closing the gap.

Here’s how Medvedev explained it on Sunday after his 7-5, 6-3 triumph over the 21-year-old Italian in the final.

“I feel like already this year he’s stepping up, stepping up, so he starts to miss less and less.”
Daniil Medvedev on Jannik Sinner

“I don’t do it on purpose – it’s not like before the match I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m going to do exactly this shot to put him in trouble,’ – but I can see throughout all the matches that we played that my shots don’t let him completely [express] his game, which is hitting winners all over the place,” Medvedev said.

“Somehow my ball doesn’t let him do it”

The Russian is aware of how lethal Sinner can be when he is feeling relaxed and in attacking mode. For whatever reason, it isn’t easy for the Italian to find that comfort zone against Medvedev – yet.

“Like the match against Carlos, the match against Rublev, Ruusuvuori, he was just blasting the ball past his opponents, doing unbelievable winners,” Medvedev said. “Somehow my ball doesn’t let him do it, or maybe I’m reading his game a little bit better, so I’m pushing him more to the error.”

Medvedev, who has won 12 of the 15 sets the pair have played across their six meetings, which have all come on hard courts, says that he has sensed marked improvement in Sinner’s game this year.

“I feel like already this year he’s stepping up, stepping up, so he starts to miss less and less. The match in Rotterdam was a brutal one. I mean, today the first set he had the first break. He’s getting definitely closer and closer, but I hope I can continue bringing him this trouble because I’m sure I’m going to see him in the later stages of the tournament if I manage to play well.”

Sinner’s fatigue in the final? You learn from it, says Medvedev

It’s no secret that one of the biggest reasons Sinner struggled on Sunday was fatigue. The 21-year-old talked about not feeling well when he woke up, and said that he never really got his energy level where they needed to be.

A lot of that could be due to the intense semi-final he had with Carlos Alcaraz on Friday night. It was the biggest win of his career, both by ranking, and also emotionally. It is understandable that he didn’t recover from it.

“Sometimes in the semis you can have a crazy match,” Medvedev said. “I had it myself a few times. I won’t even go into examples, but sometimes you play a semi-final, it could be not even crazy in terms of timing, but sometimes you give it all emotionally, and it can be really tough to get ready for the final. That’s experience.”

“It’s not easy, and that’s why finals are not easy, especially in Masters 1000.”