Daniil Medvedev looks back on his 2024 season | ATP tour

Match response

Medvedev proud despite six and a half seasons out of ten

The world number 4 remained trophyless for the entire season for the first time since 2017

November 14, 2024

Whether or not things go according to plan, Daniil Medvedev rarely minces words when it comes to honest self-assessment.

The 28-year-old was in a typically philosophical mood on Thursday night in Turin, with his season ending with an outright defeat to Jannik Sinner at the Nitto ATP Finals. Despite a group stage elimination at the prestigious season finale to confirm his first trophyless season at tour level since 2017, Medvedev identified plenty of positives to offset his 2024 disappointments.

I will probably end up number four in the world, unless Taylor [Fritz] pulls off a big upset, which is amazing, Medvedev said in his post-match press conference. [I dont] gotta say it. It's amazing. In the sport that is so demanding, with so many players, I want to be number 1 in the world, but I haven't played nearly well enough this year to become number 1 in the world. Jannik plays much better. He has proven it many times.

But I am number 4 in the big tennis world. I'm very proud of that, because I've struggled all year. Every training, every match was a struggle for me. Lots of competitions. Before I felt like I had the edge over the opponent, I could easily win. Now I had to win three sets, tiebreaks, breaks at the end of the set, and so on.

I would [rate my season] somewhere around six and a half out of ten, which means there is still a lot of work to be done to get better, but there are still a lot of good memories. I'm already looking forward to next season.”

Apart from snapping a three-match streak in the second set of his Ilie Nastase Group match against Sinner in Turin, Medvedev struggled to assert himself against the No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings . Once again, the 20-time tour level champion was happy to put his difficulties against the Italian into perspective.

Jannik plays well. He has complete confidence now, Medvedev thought. I saw his training before the match. He barely misses a shot and hits powerfully. Often there are many players who don't miss much, but at least don't hit strongly. He can hit strong, very strong, probably one of the maybe top three, four, five hitters on tour, and he doesn't miss.

It's hard to play him. He's pressuring you. You have to deal with it. In some ways I couldn't deal with it well enough. I missed some shots at some key moments. He won the match. In short, so simple.

Thursday's defeat in Turin was Medvedev's fifth in six meetings this year with Sinner, who now leads the pairs Lexus ATP Head2Head series 8-7. The Italian won one final (at the Australian Open), one semi-final (Miami) and two quarter-finals (at the US Open and in Shanghai), making him a major culprit when it comes to explaining Medvedev's trophyless 2024.

Look, he's hardly losing this year, Sinner's Medvedev said. If you want to win a title, you're going to face him at some point. It's not easy to beat him. Many people try it. Many people fail. There's usually one guy who does it a little more often than the others, and that's Carlos [Alcaraz]. He is a very, very strong opponent.

He is perhaps one of the best players I have met. I kind of faced the Big Four when they were a little older, and maybe [their] speed was not the same. I'm going to try to work in the preseason. Maybe at some point he loses his confidence and starts missing balls. Otherwise, very difficult years await all of us, and not just me, because he is still very young.

Medvedev is known for his defensive skills and his refusal to lie down during long rallies. He has never been afraid of hard knocks. The former world number 1 is ready to get back to work this offseason as he looks for more success against his biggest rivals on Tour.

In the preparation we will definitely try to build something new, I think,” Medvedev said. I now see that it is not good enough, especially against guys like Jannik and Carlos. I'm not sure if I'll get better, but I'll try. I will try to improve in some areas.

I feel like if we talk purely about tactics, I feel like I played well. It's just execution. You shouldn't miss it, go, go, go for it. I didn't succeed. We will work on that a lot in the preseason, to build a slightly better version of myself, which is not easy when you are 28 years old.

About titles… I'm not too worried about that. Like I said, every tournament is hard to win. Of course I want to win more Masters and Grand Slams than other tournaments. But maybe you go to another tournament and win it. You never know. Overall I've had some very good runs and some very bad tournaments, so it's okay for me.