Daniil Medvedev Speaks Candidly About Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon

Daniil Medvedev spoke at a press conference following his opening-round victory at Wimbledon over Marin Cilic about his progress on grass, citing Jannik Sinner as a benchmark. “There’s always room for improvement. That’s what I try to do every year. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don’t. But the real problem is movement—it’s not easy on grass. I feel like I’m not the best tennis player when it comes to moving on grass, especially when you see Jannik Sinner…”

“Jannik is definitely the best because he somehow manages to slide. And when he slides, it doesn’t even look like he’s about to break something… If I were to slide on grass the way he does, maybe I could do it a couple of times, but then I’d definitely get injured. We’ve seen so many players get injured, so I don’t think it’s ideal.”

“I’m trying to do my best; I’ve worked hard with my strength and conditioning coach to adapt my movement and my game. Today, for example, I was moving pretty well. I think it gave me an edge today as well,” according to The Tennis Gazette.

This isn’t the first time Medvedev has brought up Sinner’s name to analyze his own struggles. Back at Roland Garros, after his surprising first-round elimination at the hands of Australian Adam Walton, the Russian had already referred to the South Tyrolean to explain his slump on clay: “For my tennis to be consistent, the ball needs to travel. I don’t have the power of a player like Jannik Sinner, who always hits hard in any conditions. I depend on certain conditions; if the ball doesn’t go, it doesn’t go.”

In the Wimbledon draw, Medvedev’s path could cross with Sinner’s in the quarterfinals.