After Rome, Daniil Medvedev reveals startling truth about facing Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz

Daniil Medvedev says there’s ‘a big gap’ between him and Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

Medvedev has played against Sinner twice already this season, losing both times – first in two tie-break sets at Indian Wells, then in a tight three-setter in Rome.

After his Italian Open exit, he spoke to Bolshe about where he feels he stands compared to Sinner and Alcaraz.

“There’s still a big gap in terms of consistency, but it’s encouraging that in these specific matches…I’ve played them three times this year, I managed to beat Carlos and the matches with Jannik have been really close,” said Medvedev.

“In Indian Wells, I could have taken at least a set and here I did win a set and was relatively close in the third.”

“But obviously they are more consistent and just playing better overall, but it’s still nice to know that I can compete at that level. My goal now is to bring this kind of tennis to all my other matches so I can keep setting up these meetings with them.”

Daniil Medvedev on how Jannik Sinner’s clay-court game stands out

Medvedev and Sinner faced each other for the 17th time in Rome, but it marked their first encounter on clay.

When asked about facing Sinner on clay, Medvedev noted that the world number one seems to move even better on this surface than he does on hard or grass courts.

“Well, obviously his game is quite similar on every surface, but I’d say he might actually move even better [on clay] than on other courts, potentially,” said Medvedev.

“But you do get a few more chances, because his shots don’t skid through the court quite as fast, so it kind of balances out.

“While you might have a better chance at reaching his shots, the same goes for him, because of how well he moves, and he can outplay you because of that. So it wasn’t like anything felt completely different out there on clay.”

Medvedev will now shift his focus to preparing for Roland Garros, where he enters as the seventh seed.

The 30-year-old fell in the opening round last year but reached his best result at the French Open in 2021 when he made it to the quarterfinals.