Daniil Medvedev puts his slump in perspective – “Winning an ATP 250 title or reaching the Australian Open final?

Daniil Medvedev expressed optimism about the rest of the season as he kicked off his campaign with a win at the Open 13 Provence. The former US Open champion has struggled over the past year, being overshadowed by rising stars like Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Alexander Zverev.

The Russian has accumulated 20 titles in his career, including his lone Grand Slam and six Masters 1000 trophies between 2019 and 2023. However, since his loss in the 2023 US Open final, he has suffered five consecutive defeats in title matches, with his last tournament win dating back to the Rome Open in 2023—21 months ago.

Medvedev seeks redemption in Marseille

Confidence has been an issue for Medvedev, especially after early exits at the Australian Open and Rotterdam, where he lost as the heavy favourite to two relatively unknown players, Learner Tien and Mattia Bellucci.

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Addressing his form and confidence after a prolonged (by his standards) title drought, Medvedev remained upbeat: "I feel pretty good, which might be surprising when you're lacking confidence. I don’t think I’m that far from playing better and achieving better results."

"The question is: will it happen here in Marseille, next week in Doha, in Dubai, or at Indian Wells? Every week is a new opportunity. I had a good pre-season, and that won’t change. I also trained well before Rotterdam, so it’s just a matter of winning more matches."

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Upon his arrival in Marseille, Medvedev emphasized the importance of accumulating wins and match rhythm. So far, he has only a 2-2 record this season."Right now, I think it’s very important for me, for my confidence, to prove to myself that I’m still capable—though I already know that I am."

"But what’s better when you look at last year? Winning an ATP 250 title or reaching the Australian Open final, the Dubai semifinals despite not feeling great physically, the Indian Wells final, or the Miami semifinals? I’d say the finals."

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"But at this moment, the most important thing for me is to win a lot of matches and start feeling better with my game again. In the matches I’ve lost, I feel like I wasn’t that far off," he added. "I’m not playing my best, but even at this level, I’m still close to winning, which is a good sign. Because once I get back to my true level, I might start winning matches more easily, and the titles will come again."

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