Daniil Medvedev’s 2024 has been impossibly tough thus far, in which he has impressed and come so close to many titles, yet remains without one.
Now entering the clay court season, this represents a huge opportunity for him to hopefully convert his fine form into silverware, despite having never surpassed the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros.
And whilst Medvedev is renowned for his stunning consistency which helps him win the bulk of the matches he partakes in, his off-court antics are perhaps even more legendary.
Few will be more privy to these tactics than Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Daniil Medvedev hints at ‘more controversy’ to come
Speaking ahead of his Monte-Carlo curtain-raiser, set to get underway later today, the Russian tennis player actually turned his attention to Tsitsipas.
The two have enjoyed a fierce and hugely enjoyable rivalry thus far despite only facing 13 times, with the former winning nine of those.
However, it has often not been the tennis that has dominated headlines when these two have met.
Whether it be in Miami, Melbourne or Italy, fireworks were once always expected when Medvedev faced Tsitsipas.
Although, the two do seem to have now pushed past it, although the 28-year-old did not rule out ‘more controversy’ in the future.
He noted: ‘I don’t drink wine, haha. In tennis, in general, being very close friends with someone is difficult. You need to know each other for a long time, have common interests – like Andrey, Karen and Roman.
‘It seems to me that now we (himself & Tsitsipas) have completely normal, respectful relations. Who knows, maybe there will be some more controversy on the court. But, in my opinion, everything developed only in a positive direction for us. Now we respect each other as athletes and treat each other completely calmly.’
Daniil Medvedev has endured a cruel 2024 so far…
Kickstarting his 2024 in the Australian Open, his mesmeric run to the final was insanely gruelling, as he was twice forced to come from two sets down to claim victory, and endured a further three-set slog with Hubert Hurkacz too.
In the end, these drawn-out matches took their toll on him in the final, as he was instead the one throwing away a two-set lead to lose to Jannik Sinner.
Then, despite being the top seed in Dubai, he was dumped out in the semi-finals by an in-form Ugo Humbert, who would go on to win the tournament.
Indian Wells marked another crushing final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz, before Sinner once again thwarted him in the semi-finals in Miami.
It seems like at every corner Medvedev seems to be denied by the young superstars seeking to usurp him, so hopefully he can take that next step at Monte-Carlo and actually claim a title that his form has merited.
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