By Chris Oddo | Monday 11 August 2025
Happened what happened to Daniil Medvedev? Remember the former Bount of No.1, the boy who stayed long against the three big ones and gathered titles in strong courts as if they were out of style? Did anyone see that guy?
There would be no glance at Cincinnati, where Medvedev appeared as a shell of his former self as he left in a loss to Australia’s Adam Walton on Sunday, 6-7 6-4 6-1.
It is just strange to see the former deleter at no.15 in the world, holding a record of 26-17 for the season. One of the most attractive players, personalized at the ATP tour, who gained his nickname “Reaper Slim” thanks to his wire framework and his strange ability to overcome players with his accuracy and trademark resistance, is only 29 years old. It’s not like him is Kei Nishikori in 35 and on the right track, or Gael Montfils at 38.
Medvedev is 1-3 in the Grand Slams in 2025, and 11-7 in Masters events. This is a player who won more than 60 games in 2021 and 2023, and reached the six main finals between 2019 and 2024. But he has gone 12-20 against the top-20 since the beginning of 2024, so his lack of success against the elite is no longer surprised.
Medvedev was some games from winning yesterday’s match with Walton, but the extreme heat occupied it. He was suffering while changing the courts, shaking his head in a water coolant and sitting under an ice pack. In court he had nothing to give to the decisive group. It happens, but it should not. No excuse, this is the type of difficulty he has led to years in previous years, as he became one of the best players of the difficult court in tennis.
The Open Open 2021 champion will go to the other US Open, where he is 33-7 Lifetime. If a dose of energy in New York cannot bring his game to life, we should all worry.
