Jannik
Sinner commented that
Carlos Alcaraz is not the only tennis player who pushes
him to be better and mentioned
Daniil Medvedev as another important rival. The
world No. 3 has been the best player of the year so far and won his first Grand
Slam title at the 2024 Australian Open by defeating the Russian with a two-set
comeback.
The Italian
improved his record in 2024 to 20-1 after defeating Tomas Machac in the
quarterfinals, with his only loss coming against Alcaraz in the semifinals of
Indian Wells. In an interview with Tennis Channel, presenter Prakash Armitraj
asked him about the pressure exerted by the Spanish player to continue
improving.
The
presenter mentioned an anecdote from Toni Nadal in which he indicated that in
the early years of Rafael Nadal's career, they worked on shaping his game to
counteract his great rival Roger Federer. Armitraj asked Sinner if he
experiences something similar with Alcaraz, to which the Italian nodded, also
making a nod to Daniil Medvedev:
"Of
course, I think that's good to see, and this also makes me a better
player," Sinner said. "Not only Carlos, but Daniil is someone who
kind of made me a better player. Because I never beat him before, I tried to
work on a couple of serve and volleys, drop shots, opening [up] the court with
the short, corners and angles. So, you know, for sure, there are players who
make you better.
"But
you also have to reach a certain rounds to play against those. Which most
likely are from quarters to semis to finals, and I'm really happy to play again
in semis," he added. "It's gonna be a really tough match, but, you
know, this is what I practice for, and let's see where I have improved."
Sinner is
gearing up to face the semifinals of the
Miami Open and will take on the
Russian former world No. 1 in a rematch of the 2023 final where Medvedev
claimed the title. Their last encounter was none other than the Australian Open
final, an epic match that ended with Sinner coming back from two sets down to
win 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3:
"Against
Daniil, if he plays the same was as the first two sets, like in Melbourne, it
was over an hour," Sinner asserted. "So, I have to be really careful.
But, you know, every match is different, I'm looking forward to it. And
hopefully it's gonna be a good match, which I guess is the most important for
not only for us players, but also for the fans,” Sinner commented.