Daniil Medvedev offered candid thoughts after his match against Jannik Sinner, addressing the Italian’s physical difficulties on court. The Russian explained that such struggles are not unusual in high-intensity battles and do not necessarily prevent Sinner from winning.
Locker room silence
When asked whether players discuss Sinner’s recurring physical crises, Medvedev dismissed the idea. “No, definitely not talking about this in the locker room because we try I think not to discuss, like, tennis. When I say ‘tennis in the locker room’, meaning we don’t look a match and say, ‘Look at his backhand, it’s so bad. Everyone should go there.’ At least I didn’t discuss this with anyone,” he said, clarifying that players avoid analyzing opponents in that setting.
The demands of facing Sinner
Medvedev emphasized the difficulty of competing against Sinner, noting the relentless rallies required to earn points. “Look, it’s very tough to play him. So to win a point, you need to hit a lot of shots. I try to win the points, so I hit a lot of shot. I don’t know if maybe there was something else, but the points were physical. It was tough for me, as well. He was struggling,” he explained.
Comparisons with other greats
Drawing parallels with other top players, Medvedev highlighted that physical battles are common at the highest level. “Whenever I play Novak, it’s a bit the same. Novak many times was struggling against me physically. Were there some other guys? I mean, I guess Rafa, I struggled physically. But it was the same story. We played many shots because that’s how I play as well. I don’t think there is more about this,” he noted.
Winning despite adversity
Medvedev concluded by stressing that Sinner’s struggles do not hinder his ability to succeed. “Again, whenever someone is going to be good enough to play against Jannik in the baseline game, because there is no other way to win, it’s going to be struggle for both. We saw in Monte-Carlo, he was struggling as well, but he won. That he struggles is not a problem for him to win. The only kind of chance you have is to play this 30-shot rally, try to win them. Then you both going to struggle,” he said.
His remarks underline the brutal physical demands of modern tennis, where even the best players must endure grueling exchanges to prevail.
ATP Rome - Jannik Sinner's projected path
Sinner in Rome, ranking, and results in 2026
Ranked no.1, the Italian achieved an overall 35-2 record in 2026. Jannik is currently playing in Rome where he overcame the world no.82 Sebastian Ofner 6-3 6-4, the world no.60 Alexei Popyrin 6-2 6-0, the world no.155 Andrea Pellegrino 6-2 6-3, the world no.14 Andrey Rublev 6-2 6-4 and the world no.9 Daniil Medvedev 6-2 5-7 6-4.
Jannik Sinner will fight against the world no.25 Casper Ruud in the final. Their head to head is 4-0 for Sinner.
Jannik clinched 4 titles in 2026 in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo and Madrid.
Jannik won 29 titles in his career: 13 on hard courts, 3 on clay courts, 11 on indoor courts and 2 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Daniil Medvedev in 2026
Currently the world no.9, Daniil played his last match on the 16th of May when he surrendered to world no.1 Jannik Sinner 6-2 5-7 6-4 in the semifinal in Rome (draw).
Currently, during this year the Russian owns an overall 24-8 match record. Daniil has won 2 titles in 2026 in Brisbane and Dubai. Daniil reached the final in Indian Wells.
Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev squared off 17 times. Their current record is 10-7 for Sinner.
