Daniil Medvedev, currently ranked fifth in the world, is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world. However, there is one player who even the Russian thinks is better than him — Carlos Alcaraz.
The Spaniard has already won four grand slam titles at the age of 21, thus etching his name in the list of the world’s most popular and talented tennis players. However, what surprised everybody was Medvedev ditching the names of Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner and giving credit to Alcaraz.
“He’s probably the toughest opponent I’ve faced in my career. I’m going to try to raise my game next time I play Carlos, to try and do something new, something better,” Medvedev was quoted by Eurosport.
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The two have met on seven occasions on the ATP tour so far. Of these seven games, five went in favor of Alcaraz, while Medvedev could only win two. One of Medvedev’s wins came in 2021 when he defeated Alcaraz in the Wimbledon Round 64.
However, the Spaniard fulfilled his revenge by beating the world number 5 in the semifinals at Wimbledon consecutively in 2023 and 2024. Alcaraz also succeeded in clinching two back-to-back Indian Wells titles in 2023 and 2024, defeating Medvedev on both occasions.
On the other hand, Alcaraz has been in a neck-to-neck competition with world number one Jannik Sinner. Of their 13 meetings, Medvedev emerged victorious in seven, while six went in Sinner’s favor.
But the major shocker was his snubbing of Djokovic’s name as he has faced some of his career’s toughest losses against the Serb. The 24-time grand slam champion has caused Medvedev to miss out on grand slam titles more than once.
Their most recent encounter was during the 2023 US Open finals, when he defeated him. They have faced each other 15 times, but Medvedev has only managed to win five matches.
Rafael Nadal is another opponent who has caused quite a few upsets for Medvedev, the most iconic one being the 2022 Australian Open final. Nadal beat the Russian five times, giving him the chance to emerge victorious only in one of their six meetings.
Hence, Medvedev’s decision to pick Alcaraz over these opponents took everyone by surprise.
