Daniil Medvedev is in it to win it

Nationality: Russian
Age: 28
Ranking: 05
Height: 1.98m

HE'S BEEN FINED tens of thousands of dollars for verbally abusing umpires, while his history with the Australian Open crowd is nothing short of fraught – in 2022, he accused fans watching his second-round win over Nick Kyrgios of having “low IQs”. Yet likability isn’t something Daniil Medvedev seems overly concerned about (though, it must be said, his temper has softened in recent seasons). He plays to win. And when he’s on song, he’s almost unstoppable.

‘Almost’ is the operative word here. Medvedev is one of the fittest and most consistent players on tour, known for wearing down his opponents in lengthy baseline rallies – by the end of the 2024 Australian Open, he broke the record for the most time spent on court at a Grand Slam (24 hours and 17 minutes) and the highest number of sets played in a singles major (31). But on more than one occasion, the 28-year-old, who moved with his family from Russia to France for coaching when he was 18, has lost after being two sets up. A statistic he probably wishes he could erase: Medvedev is the only man in the Open era to lose two Grand Slam finals from a two-set lead.

But his wins have been just as profound as his losses. A fierce counterpuncher with a lethal backhand and powerful first serve, the 28-year-old has won 20 ATP Tour singles titles, becoming the only player to defeat the world’s top three-ranked men en route to the year-end finals in 2020, a run that included a straight sets win against Djokovic on hardcourt at the US Open, Medvedev’s first Grand Slam victory. Not quite done disrupting tennis’ strongly held status quo, in 2022, he became the first man outside of the Big Four to reach world No. 1 status since Andy Roddick in 2004.

Medvedev had a consistent 2023 and 2024, while being unable to reproduce the major wins that saw him on top of the world two years prior. Yet his head-to-head rivalry with current world No. 1 Jannik Sinner would suggest the Russian still hungers for the game’s peak. Currently, the players have met 15 times, and Medvedev has won seven of those matches, while Sinner has taken eight. But if there’s anyone whose game – and temperament – can get the better of the cool, calm and composed Italian, it’s this fierce competitor (alongside Alcaraz) with his take-no-prisoners approach, whether it be on or off the court.