Daniil Medvedev’s 2024 season was a rollercoaster ride. After a promising start with a runner-up finish at the Australian Open to Jannik Sinner, the year took a turn, culminating in a disappointing loss to the same man at the ATP Finals. This marked the first trophyless season for the 29-year-old since 2017. As he looks ahead, what are his targets for the next few months and how does he look forward to overcoming the biggest hurdle of his 2024 season in 2025?

Although there is a fine margin separating the two in the overall H2H record (8-7 in favor of the Italian), Daniil Medvedev suffered five defeats out of his six meetings with Jannik Sinner in 2024 itself. If we take a look at Daniil Medvedev’s coaching team, the Frenchman, Giles Cervara, began coaching in 2017. Together they won almost 20 titles, including the 2021 US Open. Then earlier this year, he added Giles Simon to his coaching setup. When asked “Will the other coach, Gilles Simon, who joined your tandem about a year ago, remain on your team next season?” Medvedev responded,

“Yes. This year has been tough. Because of the Olympics, there was less time for deep work in training, so it was difficult for Simon to make a big contribution to my preparation right away. He tried to do it little by little, mainly at the Grand Slam tournaments, but you can’t change anything globally there,” said Medvedev in a November 15th interview with the Russian newspaper Kommersant.

He further added, “This year, Simon and I got to know each other better, we got to know each other well. Now we will try to do a thorough pre-season preparation together and see what comes of it. I won’t go into details, but I have an idea on how to improve my game with the balls I’m using now. It’s not a fact that it will work. But I need to try to find a way to beat Jannik Sinner again, to whom I’ve lost so many times in recent months.“

Just after making an exit from the ATP Finals, Daniil Medvedev was heard admitting, “I want to be No. 1 in the world, but I didn’t play well enough this year, by far, to be No. 1 in the world. Jannik is playing much better. He proved it many times…” He further stressed on the fact about how consistent Jannik Sinner has been this year. 

Talking about his biggest hurdle to big titles, Medvedev said, “If you want to win a title, you will face him at one moment. It’s not easy to beat him. A lot of people try. A lot of people fail.” The next big event that is lining up for Medvedev at the moment is the 2025 AO. Is there a chance of seeing Daniil Medvedev taking on Jannik Sinner in the early phase of the tournament?

Possibilities that Medvedev and Sinner could clash early at 2025 AO

The 2025 AO draw could throw up some lip-smacking early matchups between the superstars of the tennis world. Top players could well find themselves in the same half of the draw. Jannik Sinner is the defending champion at the AO and he will remain top-seeded at the first Grand Slam tournament of the 2025 season. As per several reports, there is a good chance of Sinner facing Carlos Alcaraz (3), Daniil Medvedev (5), and Novak Djokovic (7) on his route to the final.

If the seedings stay like this, then Sinner could face Djokovic in the QF and Carlos Alcaraz in the SF before potentially taking on Alexander Zverev in the final. However, for Daniil Medvedev, well, there is a chance of him swapping places with Taylor Fritz (4) but it completely depends on their performances at the start of the 2025 season.

Daniil Medvedev has reached the finals of the AO thrice in his career (2021,2022 and 2023). Medvedev rarely minces any word when it comes to an honest self-assessment. He previously rated his 2024 season six and a half out of 10. It will be interesting to see if he can not just take the tally to four but also win his first AO title and second hard court slam of career.