Daniil Medvedev just earned a hard-fought victory over his Polish opponent Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals of the ongoing Australian Open. After the match, during the press conference, he was asked many questions regarding his match. But one question was about whether he would want Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic as his opponent in the final if he wins. Medvedev was both diplomatic and praiseworthy in equal measures towards both.
To put some context, Djokovic and Sinner are scheduled to play the first semi-final on 26th January at the Rod Laver Arena, after the wins against Taylor Fritz and Andrey Rublev respectively. Medvedev, who just beat Hurkacz 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, in the quarter-final still has another big thorn in his way before he reaches the final. He will be facing Alexander Zverev, against whom he is the heavy favorite to win.
It’s not an easy decision for him to choose Sinner as his potentially weaker opponent. Medvedev is keenly aware of Sinner’s ability and although a conventional wise decision would be to avoid Djokovic as an opponent at any cost at any stage of the tournament, Medvedev acknowledges and praises Sinner’s prowess in recent times.
“Ask about another match that will happen before your next match, the first semifinal between Novak and Jannik. Novak is 10-0 in semifinals here and he’s 10-0 in finals. As you’re waiting to play your match, are you hoping that Jannik can take care of him for you or do you feel like it’s important for sort of the Australian Open mission to have to beat Djokovic at this tournament?” asked the reporter in the press conference.
“Yeah, the thing is Jannik is playing so good now, so if I’m 100% honest with you, if you ask me who — let’s say I’m in the final — who do I want to play, Novak, who never lost here, whatever, is going for some crazy stats, or Jannik who is not losing a set even when he’s 5-1 down in the tiebreak and stuff like this, I’m, like, I don’t know (smiling)”, replied Medvedev.
Medvedev was referring to Sinner’s quarter-final clash against Rublev. In the second set of that match, Sinner was down by 1-5 in tie-breakers after making a comeback and winning it 7-5. It was a phenomenal display of his skill and temperament. On the other hand, Djokovic has won every single Australian Open, every time he has made it to the semi-finals. It’s 10 semi-finals (& finals) and 10 titles for him. So that’s something to remain scared about for Medvedev.
“I really don’t know. I want them to go 7 hours 30, tiebreak 30-28 in the fifth, and then maybe let’s see if they are a little bit tired on Sunday. No, I think it’s going to be a great match. I’m really going to enjoy it as much as I can. I’m going to prepare my match, but if I have some time to watch, I’m going to enjoy it. They had a great rivalry end of the season with Turin/Davis Cup, so really, really going to enjoy it and let’s see who wins, and then hopefully you can ask me before the final something (smiling),” continued Medvedev, leaving it on a diplomatic note.
His joke about Sinner and Djokovic tiring themselves out before the finals tells everything about the deep admiration and reverence he has for both of them. Sinner did beat Djokovic, a rare and monumental feat in itself, at the 2023 ATP Cup finals and the 2023 Davis Cup semi-finals. Thus, the 22-year-old Italian developed an edgy rivalry with the 36-year-old Serbian GOAT.
However, despite all of that, Medvedev might be better off facing Sinner in the finals over Djokovic.
How has Daniil Medvedev fared against Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic?
Medvedev has a lukewarm record against Djokovic, whereas his record against Sinner is quite good. In the 15 times he has clashed against the Serb, he won only 5 matches and lost 10. In comparison, he won 6 of the 9 clashes against Sinner. However, such records are also subject to each player’s form and age at that respective time.
Medvedev first faced Sinner when he was 19 years old in 2020 at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille. He won the game quite convincingly 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. Interestingly, Medvedev won all of his first 6 encounters with a relatively younger Sinner. The last three times, all in 2023, it was Sinner who won. Sinner reached his peak last year, winning multiple tournaments, and he is currently World No. 4. This is the reason why, former World No. 7 Barbara Schett has hailed him to dethrone Djokovic as the AO champion.
With Djokovic, it was the other way around for Medvedev. He was 21 years old when he met Djokovic in his absolute beast mode in 2017. Djokovic won the first three encounters between them until Medvedev won the ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo in 2019. They met at the Australian Open twice before, with Djoker winning both of those matches. Once in 2019 Roud of 16 and the other time in the 2021 finals.
Therefore, chances are very slim that Djokovic will squander an opportunity of winning the final. This Australian Open will be his 11th title if he wins. Hence, it would be wiser for Medvedev to choose Sinner as his opponent, if only it was up to him. This is because, despite Sinner’s God-like form currently, he is less experienced than Medvedev on the big stage. The Russian player can take advantage of that.
