Daniil Medvedev may never get back to No. 1 again, or even win another major, but if he continues to play the way he did this week, he’s going to have chances to make the Top 5 and maybe challenge for majors.
Of course, there is an Everest-sized mountain to climb with Sinner and Alcaraz dominating the top of the table in men’s tennis, but even Sinner was quick to admit on Sunday—after his win over Medvedev in the Indian Wells final—that the sport benefits when Medvedev is at his best.
“I do believe that tennis needs him,” Sinner said. “He’s a very unique style of playing. Seeing him back at this level, it’s great. He’s improving a lot. Very aggressive player at the end. He has two different game styles when he serves and when he returns. So, you know, you have to face that. It’s great for the sport, having him playing at this level again.”
Medvedev knows it will be difficult to challenge Sinner and Alcaraz on a regular basis, but he was pleased to do so this week, even if he didn’t win the title. He’ll return to the Top 10 on Monday—a well-deserved reward for a fortnight of incredible tennis in the California desert.
“I think in general on a one-match basis, anyone can challenge them,” Medvedev said of Sinner and Alcaraz. “You saw Jakub [Mensik] beat Jannik in Doha, you saw me beat Carlos here, stuff like this. So on a one-match basis, a lot of guys can challenge. I think it’s not right to say it’s only me or only Novak or whatever, only Sascha.
“But it’s definitely very tough, and that’s why, when you come to the end of the season, usually they have, like, 60 wins, and I don’t know, 5, 6 losses. So it’s not an easy challenge, and you just need to try your best.”
Medvedev played well enough to beat Sinner on Sunday but couldn’t manage to get through the tiebreaks with the Italian. He even had a 4-0 lead in the second-set tiebreak, but it didn’t stand up.
“It’s like a bittersweet feeling where it feels good to do what I did this week,” he said. “But of course I wanted to try to push him even more, but it’s tough.”