Medvedev is preparing for his Wimbledon clash with Sinner | ATP Tour

Wimbledon

Medvedev is preparing for his Wimbledon clash with Sinner

Gilles Cervara offers exclusive information

July 08, 2024

Daniil Medvedev is back in the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the second year in a row. Before the tournament, he played “a big practice set” with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner. But that was practice.

On Tuesday, the former PIF ATP Rankings No. 1 will be on a mission to end a five-match losing streak against the current top-ranked star.

“Look, the funny thing is that I lost five times. But if I remember correctly, four times were very close. Was I unlucky or not?” Medvedev asked. “Even in Beijing, two tie-breaks. What was it like? Vienna, quite a crazy match. Turin, a close match. I feel that he won it maybe easier, the Australian Open, close match. Then he won Miami easily.

“I don’t think I was far off, but he’s done a great job winning five times in a row. [Será la] “This is the first time we’ve played on grass, so I’m sure I’ll get something out of it.”

As difficult as it is to go into a matchup knowing he’s lost five straight to Sinner, Medvedev still leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 6-5. Seven of those meetings have come since the start of 2023, which Medvedev’s coach Gilles Cervara likes.

“It’s good to have played against Jannik so many times in the last few months,” Cervara told ATPTour.com. “My feeling is that the more times you lose against the same opponent, the more chances you have to beat him next time.”

Jannik Sinner will be a tough opponent for Daniil Medvedev, in the first time they meet on grass. Photo: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour

According to Cervara, time has allowed Sinner to continually improve since his emergence on the ATP Tour until now.

“He still has his incredible speed with the ball,” Cervara said of the 22-year-old. “But he controls the ball so, so well now. He can’t seem to miss at the speed he plays. He has a great first serve now that he didn’t have a year and a half ago. And winning gives him more and more confidence in himself.”

Medvedev more or less echoed the same sentiments. The fourth seed explained that Sinner “plays better” but actually makes fewer mistakes.

“When Jannik came on the circuit, everyone was a bit surprised, not by how hard he hits, but by how fast he runs and how hard he hits from all positions on the court,” Medvedev said. “But he was making a lot of mistakes and losing some matches. As soon as he stopped making fewer mistakes, it’s very difficult to beat him now. Not just for me. That’s why he’s world No. 1.”

The challenge for Team Medvedev is to find a way to topple this new and improved version of Sinner. Cervara is now joined by former world No. 6 Gilles Simon, who was nicknamed “The Professor” during his time on tour. Earlier this year, Medvedev revealed that Cervara had given Simon a list of particular players against whom the Frenchman would help him find tactics. Medvedev confirmed Sunday that Sinner is on that list.

“It’s always interesting to have the feeling and vision of a former elite player to share with my experience as a coach,” Cervara said. “We communicated together with Daniil.”

How does the way the team prepares for Medvedev change having played against Sinner so many times lately?

“It changes and it doesn’t change,” Cervara said. “You use the different parties to keep [la táctica]to change it or to do it better than the last few times.”

One notable difference is that they have never played on grass. That could affect some details, because the speed and movement can be different, which would force them to adapt, according to Cervara.

Medvedev said: “Small details make a big difference in tennis. It’s definitely harder to play against him now than before. Again, as I said, the matches have been close. I had my chances. I’ll try to take better advantage of them this time.”

At this year’s Australian Open, Medvedev played three five-set matches en route to the final and displayed ultra-aggressive tennis to start the final against Sinner. It worked for two sets before he ran out of legs and Sinner found solutions. What tactics will he use this time?

“I’m going to try to see what I can do to play well, to surprise him, to put him in trouble,” Medvedev said. “I’m sure he’s going to do the same. I hope it’s a good match.” [Haré] “everything possible to win.”