Daniil Medvedev has addressed speculation around Jannik Sinner’s on-court physical struggles, firmly shutting down claims that ATP players discuss such issues behind his back.
The two faced off in the semifinals of the 2026 Italian Open, with Sinner coming through a tough path that included wins over Sebastian Ofner, Alexei Popyrin, Andrea Pellegrino and Andrey Rublev, while Medvedev defeated Tomas Machac, Pablo Ruiz, Thiago Tirante and Martin Landaluce en route to the last four. The clash also marked the 17th meeting between the two.
Their semifinal was interrupted under dramatic circumstances, with Sinner leading 6-2, 5-7, 4-2 when heavy rain forced play to stop. The Italian had earlier told the umpire it was “raining buckets” and raised concerns about slipping on the court lines. When play resumed the following day, Sinner held his nerve to close out the match 6-4 in the final set.
Tensions also briefly surfaced during the contest when Daniil Medvedev questioned the timing of Jannik Sinner’s medical timeout for a thigh issue. Addressing this in his post-match press conference, Medvedev was asked whether players talk privately about Sinner’s physical problems on court. He dismissed the idea, saying:
“No, definitely not talking about this in the locker room because we try I think not to discuss, like, tennis. When I say ‘tennis in the locker room’, meaning we don’t look a match and say, Look at his backhand, it’s so bad. Everyone should go there. At least I didn’t discuss this with anyone.”
“Look, it’s very tough to play him. So to win a point, you need to hit a lot of shots. I try to win the points, so I hit a lot of shot. I don’t know if maybe there was something else, but the points were physical. It was tough for me, as well. He was struggling,” he added.
Daniil Medvedev Compares Jannik Sinner With Novak Djokovic & Rafael Nadal After Italian Open Defeat
During the same press conference, Daniil Medvedev went on to describe what it felt like facing Jannik Sinner in the semifinal. He even drew comparisons between the Italian and two of the sport’s greatest players, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, stating that Sinner reminded him of the duo.
Medvedev said:
“Novak many times was struggling against me physically. Were there some other guys? I mean, I guess Rafa, I struggled physically. But it was the same story. We played many shots because that’s how I play as well. I don’t think there is more about this.”
“Again, whenever someone is going to be good enough to play against Jannik in the baseline game, because there is no other way to win, it’s going to be struggle for both. We saw in Monte-Carlo, he was struggling as well, but he won. That he struggles is not a problem for him to win. The only kind of chance you have is to play this 30-shot rally, try to win them. Then you both going to struggle,” the Russian added.
Next up for Daniil Medvedev is the French Open, while Jannik Sinner will now turn his attention to the Italian Open final, where he is set to face Casper Ruud on Sunday, May 17.
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