In January, after suffering an early defeat at the Australian Open that caused to him drop out of the top 10 for the first time in almost four years, Daniil Medvedev bemoaned his inability to win matches “against opponents that can play a good level”.
Two and a half months on, it is hard to imagine how life could get better for the former world No 1.
On Sunday, Medvedev defeated Jannik Sinner, who can most certainly play a good level, to win the Miami Open for the first time. It was the Russian’s fourth title from a remarkable sequence of five consecutive hard-court finals, beginning against Sinner in Rotterdam and continuing through Doha and Dubai, before a lone defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in Indian Wells a fortnight ago.
Over the course of seven extraordinary weeks, Medvedev has won 24 out of 25 matches across three different continents. Ranked 12th after falling to Sebastian Korda at Melbourne Park, where he had previously reached two consecutive finals, the 27-year-old is now back up to fourth and leading the ATP race to Turin. It has been some turnaround.
“It’s the best start of the season I have ever had,” said Medvedev after a 7-5, 6-3 victory earned him his biggest title since the 2021 US Open.
“This year, Australia was not good enough, so I’m happy that I managed to turn the other part around, which is for sure Rotterdam and on.”
What a ride it has been. Over the past couple of months, Medvedev has been by turns bullish, brilliant and brash – and sometimes all three at once. He has thrilled with his singular blend of big-serving, dogged defence and long-limbed counter-attacking. He spoke touchingly of his four-month-old daughter in Rotterdam, and made plain his deep (and mutually held) respect for Andy Murray in Qatar.
In Dubai, Medvedev ended Novak Djokovic’s unbeaten start to the season, denying the Serb a 21st straight win. His frequently hilarious asides about the conditions in Indian Wells – “I’m going to pee as slow as this court is,” Medvedev told chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani during his third-round win over Ilya Ivashka, “the court is slow, so I go slow” – brought a welcome dose of irreverence to the sunshine swing.
On a brutally hot and humid afternoon in south Florida that did Sinner few favours after he had woken up feeling “a little bit sick”, Medvedev showcased other qualities. He was resilient, quickly shrugging off the disappointment he must have felt when, having failed to convert five break point opportunities in the fourth game, he was subsequently broken himself after serving three double faults.
Medvedev was also characteristically perceptive. Sinner, sick but also no doubt feeling the after-effects of an epic semi-final win over Carlos Alcaraz, frequently appeared to be struggling to catch his breath in the early stages, particularly during the longer baseline exchanges. It was a sign of vulnerability that Medvedev, who had won each of his previous five encounters with the Italian, was quick to spot and exploit. As Sinner served to consolidate his advantage, a 21-shot rally early in the game completely knocked the stuffing out of him. A break soon followed and, at the next change of ends, the Italian summoned the trainer, who administered some medication.
“With the heat, when you run a lot, it gets a little bit worse and worse,” said Sinner, whose efforts to attack the net, which intensified after he was broken early in the second set, were hampered by a first-serve success rate of just 56%.
“Obviously, the first half an hour we played in the sun also.
“When the rallies were long today, I was struggling the point or two points after.”
With Sinner labouring, Medvedev steadfastly refused to give the 21-year-old the pace on which he thrives. It was an approach that reaped dividends, never more so than when a floated return of serve drew the last of several misses from Sinner as he served to stay in the first set.
“I can see throughout all the matches that we played that my shots don’t let him completely expose his game, which is hitting winners all over the place,” said Medvedev, who has been further buoyed by news that Wimbledon has lifted its ban on Russians and Belarusians.
“Like the match against Carlos, the match against [Andrey] Rublev, [Emil] Ruusuvuori, he was just blasting the ball past his opponents, doing unbelievable winners.
“Somehow, my ball doesn’t let him do it, or maybe I’m reading his game a little bit better, so I’m pushing him more to the error.”
Sinner, who was beaten in his first Miami final two years ago by Hubert Hurkacz, acknowledged that he finds Medvedev a tricky customer.
“Against Daniil I never won,” said the Italian. “It’s always going to be a tough, tough challenge for me to play against him, for sure.
“Every player has this one or two players where you don’t feel that comfortable with. He’s for sure one of mine. I mean, he’s also one of the best players in the world, no?”
That much is beyond doubt.