By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday October 3, 2023
Before Tuesday’s win over top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, the last time Jannik Sinner defeated the Spaniard was at Miami. It was a comeback from a set down that propelled the Italian into the final, but when he got there he was stymied by a familiar foe in Daniil Medvedev.
The Russian took the match, improving his lifetime record to 6-0 against Sinner as he claimed his fifth Masters title, 7-5, 6-3.
On Wednesday in Beijing, Sinner will hope to be seventh-time lucky.
After his last loss to Medvedev, which was his second in as many months against his rival, Sinner talked about his struggles against his longtime nemesis.
“It's always going to be a tough, tough challenge for me to play against him, for sure,” he said. “But I don't know. I feel like I'm getting closer and closer.
“Even today I felt like that the chances are there, so that's the good thing and the positive thing. Then we see in the future. But every player has this one or two players where you don't feel that comfortable with. He's for sure one of mine. I mean, he's also one of the best players in the world, no?”
Sinner admitted at the time that he has to continue to improve to find ways to beat Medvedev, and in the last few months the Italian has ticked several boxes that point to his steady rise.
First he reached his first major semifinal at Wimbledon; then he won his maiden Masters title at Toronto; third, he defeated Alcaraz again on Tuesday, securing a career-high ranking of No.4 – Sinner will be the first Italian man to rank that high since 1976 when the ATP releases new rankings on Monday.
“For sure I have to improve to beat him, like all the other players they try to improve, and then we see in the future how it goes, but it's gonna be a good challenge for me, a challenge what I am always looking forward to play against him,” Sinner said.
Medvedev on Sinner: "Every Match He Learns"
Medvedev, who improved to 59-12 on the season with his 10th career win over Alexander Zverev on Tuesday in Beijing, says that 22-year-old Sinner is a more confident player than ever before.
“Against Jannik so far, I'm going quite good in head-to-head,” he said, adding: “But we had different matches. He's still so young. Every match he learns. Every tournament he learns. Since last time we played, he managed to get his first 1000 Masters title. It's a big boost of confidence. Every time we play, he's going to want to beat me more and more.”
Sinner, who improved to 4-3 lifetime against Alcaraz with a breathtaking performance on Tuesday, has taken Medvedev to three sets in three of the pair’s six previous meetings, so for him to take the next step is not that much of a stretch.
“For sure I will try to change a couple of things because I never won against him. It's going to be a huge challenge for me, but I'm looking forward for it, no?” he said. “I have another chance to play against him. I put myself in this position, which I'm proud of. Hopefully tomorrow I can show some good tennis.”