Misc Tennis

‘I Have to Improve to Beat Him’

Tennis Express

By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday April 2, 2023

Jannik Sinner fell short on Sunday against Daniil Medvedev, the Italian running out of ideas – and energy – against the hottest hard court player in the land. But thereโ€™s no shame in that, says Sinner. The Italian couldnโ€™t turn around his lopsided head-to-head against Medvedev (it now stands at 0-6), but Sinner still sees positives despite the prevailing Medvedevian headwinds that blow in his direction.

โ€œI has been a very positive month for me,โ€ he said on Sunday after falling 7-5, 6-3. โ€œObviously disappointed about today. I woke up not in the best possible way. I felt a little bit sick, but we tried, you know, to go out of the courts, I mean, to go on the court, trying to give it a shot, give it a try.

โ€œUnfortunately today was not my day. But still, I don’t want to take anything away from Daniil. He was serving incredible. He was very brave with the way he played today. Obviously is one of the best players in the world. I tried. Today was not my day. Now it’s clay seasonโ€ฆโ€

Sinner Under the Weather on Sunday

After his thrilling triumph over Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals, Sinner didnโ€™t have the same energy on Sunday against Medvedev, and he elaborated on that after the match.

โ€œWhen the rallies were long today, I was struggling the point or two points after,โ€ he said. โ€œI don’t want to take away anything [from Daniil]. I tried. We went out of the court and we believed, because if you step on the court, you have to believe.โ€

Sinner will take some valuable lessons from Miami, and even though he continues to come up empty against Medvedev, he seems to feel he made strides on Sunday.

As I said, he played well today,โ€ he said. โ€œHe served well. I haven’t had many chances on the returning games. I think also today we learned a lot for the next match. He is for me one of the toughest opponents, for sure. The head-to-head says it. Let’s see in the next match.

โ€œIt’s always going to be a tough challenge for me to play against him, for sure. I feel like I’m getting closer and closer. Even today I felt like the chances were there, so that’s the good thing and the positive thing.โ€

Sinner isnโ€™t about to let the matchup crack his confidence. Heโ€™s aware of the challenge that Medvedev presents to him and he feels like cracking the Russianโ€™s code will help make him a better player. As a 21-year-old who is still very much evolving his game, it could be the perfect challenge for him to…

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