US Open: Sinner – Medvedev, the final before the final

Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev meet for a place in the last four of the US Open. The winner will inherit the title of favourite to lift the trophy.

Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic, Tennis Majors

Carole Bouchard

September 3, 2024

A less flashy rivalry, but a rivalry nonetheless. Sinner – Medvedev, we agree that it doesn’t cause the same chills as Sinner – Alcaraz. No duel between fire and ice here. Who has forgotten their stratospheric mano a mano in New York in the quarter-finals in 2022? But still, their Australian Open final was worth a look, as was the drama of their quarter-final at Wimbledon. What does their quarter-final in New York have in store for us? It’s hard to say.

The good news is already that both players are at 100% of their abilities in this match, Sinner’s right hip seems to have fallen into line. It is indeed difficult to draw great lessons from Jannik Sinner’s defeat at Wimbledon as he dragged his death for five sets. But, as we saw in Melbourne, and as we can see in the result of their other duels (7-5 for Medvedev), the world No 1 is not a big fan of his rival’s play style: “It will be a difficult match with a lot of long rallies. Let’s hope to see good tennis,” the world No 1 soberly commented.

Medvedev forces Sinner to think and improvise

Sinner is all about tempo and speed, which we saw again during his triumph in Cincinnati. And Medvedev is the constant grain of sand in his machine. The No 5 seed not only defends his court like no one else, despite his height, but also has an unpredictable game and it is this ability that drives opponents crazy to break all rhythm. Medvedev forces Sinner’s to think and improvise, and that’s not necessarily natural for him. Now, Sinner has made up a lot of his deficit in this rivalry and can count on firepower and an early forehand capable of piercing the opponent’s wall. He also has a high quality return, and this will undoubtedly be crucial in the upcoming match.

What Sinner has gained most of all over time is an impressive mental toughness. In Melbourne, he was down two-sets-to-love before winning his first Grand Slam title. At Wimbledon, pale as a sheet of paper and not very strong on his long legs, he still made the match last until the fifth set. One gets the impression that, if his ideas are clear, Sinner has solved his Medvedev equation. The Italian also knows that, in the absence of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, he has a potentially royal road to a second Grand Slam title. The motivation must be as enormous as the pressure of the stakes against Medvedev. Even more so when he is still carrying the consequences of this double positive test.

But Sinner is not immune to being ‘brainwashed’ by a Medvedev who has already done the trick once in New York. He has a US Open title (2021) and a final (2023), which gives him more experience and confidence in this tournament than Sinner. He still played a total of five Grand Slam finals, that counts. Enough to derail the Sinner train? That is the question.

Medvedev hadn’t won a singles match since Wimbledon and hasn’t been tested much so far in New York. “I’m going to try to think more about Wimbledon than Australia!” laughed Medvedev. “We’ve had difficult matches most of the time, we know our respective games perfectly and so it’s always down to how we play the important points. Should I surprise him at those moments, or not… I’m expecting a great match and if I want to win it I should be at my best.”

However, he seems serene and clear about his game, which inevitably makes him even more dangerous. He doesn’t have all the keys to this quarter-final in the key, but, unlike the majority of the other players in the draw against Sinner, he still has a few. And then, this is his chance to show once again that he has what it takes to disrupt the advent of the ‘new wave’ of players. A Grand Slam tournament without Djokovic or Alcaraz is a huge chance for Medvedev too. If he suffers a breakdown in his serve or patience, on the other hand, he will have little chance. As in their previous meetings, Medvedev will try to drag a PlayStation expert into a game of chess. It’s not fire and ice, but it’s really not bad either.