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For someone who found himself as the World No. 1 for quite some time this year, Daniil Medvedev had an ordinary season, much below his own expectations.
He was the player to watch out for when the year started, high on confidence from his triumph at the 2021 US Open, where he beat Novak Djokovic in the finals. The runner-up at the 2021 Australian Open, Medvedev once again reached the finals this time and led by two sets to love against Rafael Nadal before the Spaniard turned it around and scripted one of the greatest comebacks ever.
Medvedev struggled for the majority of the season and didn't win any of the big tournaments. In the recently-concluded ATP Finals, he was the only player who did not win a single match, losing all of his three matches in the third-set tiebreaks.
Speaking on the Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast recently, sportswriter Chris Oddo stated that although Medvedev didn't have a great year, he wasn't far away from his top level and needed a few good results in his favor. He further stated that the former World No. 1 was dealing with some issues and that the last few months have not been easy for Russian players in general.
"I'm looking forward to the return of Medvedev who has become like a hard-luck loser with eight consecutive losses against the top 10, not finding a way to finish matches but he kind of showed that he is right there, in my mind, against Djokovic in Turin. I think a little more commitment and he can step in right back and be a factor," he expressed.
Oddo believes that luck has not favored Daniil Medvedev this year, be it in the Australian Open final against Nadal or the Wimbledon player ban that forced him to miss the grasscourt Major.
"I think you chalk it up to a little bit of bad luck, maybe he just wasn't perfectly right emotionally, the Wimbledon ban was big, what's happening in Russia I don't think can ever be overstated the impact it has on him. It must be extremely difficult for a Russian athlete right now. I have a lot of belief in Medevedev. He has proven so much, doing what he did against Djokovic at the US Open," he said.
"He's got that level of belief. I think he just needs to maybe have a good result happen to him. I expect him to be competing for these big titles. I wouldn't be surprised if he's in the Australian Open final again next year," he added.
"I'm confident I'm going to do something big in the future" - Daniil Medvedev
The two titles that Daniil Medvedev won this year were ATP 250 in Los Cabos and ATP 500 in Vienna. The Russian started the season as a second-ranked player and finished in the seventh position in the ATP rankings with a win-loss record of 45-19.
Reflecting on his season in a press conference after the ATP Finals, Medvedev stated that he was confident of regaining his top level next year.
"In general after Australian Open I cannot find huge result from myself, even if I made some finals, won one tournament. I didn't play bad. I mean, I'm in Torino in the top eight. But I would expect more from myself. But Vienna and Astana I played great. I'm confident I'm going to be able to do something big in the future. Just need to continue working," Daniil Medvedev said.
