Medvedev and a great desire for 2025: "I need to find a way to beat Sinner again"
Interesting reflections by the Russian on a season of ups and downs. He will soon turn 29: how much has the current Daniil changed mentally and physically? He details it himself.
Daniil Medvedev has been one of the main protagonists of a season full of ups and downs for the Russian player. It seems that he is now a little further away from Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz than twelve months ago, and he has ended the year without any titles, although he has maintained his position in the top-5 thanks to his consistency. That final in the Australian Open seems already distant on the horizon, and Medvedev admits that he needed a break.
In an interview with the Russian newspaper Kommersant, Daniil revealed that he will take two weeks off with his family in the south of France before preparing for the 2025 season, which will kick off at the Australian Open, bypassing any prior tournaments. However, before that, it's time to reflect on where he stands in his career. Approaching 29 years old, Medvedev confesses that his physical condition is not what it used to be, and he acknowledges the need to evolve his game to continue competing against the world's best.
"Let's put it this way: I'm starting to feel that it was much easier for me to recover after some matches before. Perhaps at 23, I ran faster, I flew across the court as if I had wings. Now, on the other hand, I rely on accumulated experience. I don't focus on age but on how to evolve. There are many who play until they're 35 and beyond, it's a trend seen in other sports too, with athletes much more attuned to their diets and routines."
Talking about his physical shape is no coincidence. It has been an exhausting year for Medvedev, embroiled in controversies regarding balls and chair umpires, a victim of a grueling schedule that included the Olympics. This whirlwind of competition, he admits, has hindered him from fully getting to know Gilles Simon, the new addition to his coaching team since the beginning of the season, something he vows to change heading into 2025.
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"This year has been very tough. I had less time to delve into training blocks due to the Olympics, making it difficult for Gilles to make a significant contribution to my game. He tried to do it gradually, especially in the Grand Slams, but there you can't change things on a general level. This year, Simon and I have used it to get to know each other much better. Now we will try to have an intense preseason together, we'll see what happens. I don't want to go into detail, but I have an idea of how to improve my game with the current balls being used. It's not a certainty that it will work, but I need to find a way to beat Jannik Sinner again."
The losses to Sinner and Alcaraz have been tough blows in an erratic season from which Medvedev, however, manages to extract some positive aspects, including "his place in the ranking" from which he will start the next season and "the fighting spirit he has felt, despite some encountered handicaps". There will be moments of reflection for the Russian player, who promises a battle next year... Could it come with a revamped game?
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Medvedev y un gran deseo para 2025: "Necesito encontrar la forma de volver a ganar a Sinner"