Daniil Medvedev’s career has taken a very worrying direction in the last year. The Russian champion is nowhere near the player capable of winning the US Open in 2021 and rising to the top of the ATP rankings thanks to his consistent performances throughout the season.
Repeated losses against Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in the most prestigious tournaments have greatly undermined Daniil’s confidence, who has begun to struggle and lose even against opponents far inferior to him.
The former world number 1 has not lifted an ATP trophy in almost two years (his last triumph was at the 2023 Rome Masters 1000) and his last final was at the 2024 Indian Wells Masters 1000.
A really deep crisis
Medvedev’s level has not been satisfactory even in the first two Masters 1000s of the new season, in which he has shown that he is still a long way from having found a solution to overcome this crisis.
His run at the Miami Open – he was to triumph in 2023 by beating Sinner in the final – immediately ended against Spanish ace Jaume Munar, who is not exactly a specialist on the hard courts. As if that were not enough, he will soon begin the season on red clay where Daniil has always struggled mightily.
Interviewed by some Russian media, former world number 9 Andrei Chesnokov was not soft on Medvedev: “The truth that he is playing terribly at this stage of his career. Continuing to play this way, it will be almost impossible for him to return to the Top 10.
I don’t want to say that he is a different player than before, but his current level makes him vulnerable against any opponent in the Top 40. He is nowhere near able to compete against the best players in the world now.
It is extremely complicated to predict how long this slump will last and whether or not it is reversible. Maybe he will be able to play better on red clay, but it’s hard to be optimistic right now.”
After his shocking elimination in Miami, the champion from Moscow also mentioned a physical issue that is affecting him.
