Daniil Medvedev lost the Australian Open final against Jannik Sinner 9 days ago. © APA/afp / PAUL CROCK

Medvedev: “I haven’t recovered yet”

Due to the after-effects of his marathon appearances at the Australian Open, including the final he lost after leading two sets against Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev decided not to defend his title at the Rotterdam indoor tennis tournament.

06. February 2024

From: apa/Reuters

The Russian set a Grand Slam record in Melbourne with a total playing time of 24 hours and 17 minutes. “My body and my right foot have not yet recovered sufficiently,” Medvedev said. By rejecting the world number 3, Sinner has the chance to overtake him in the world rankings with a gymnastics victory (SportNews berichtete).

Medvedev defeated Sinner in the Rotterdam final last year, and the South Tyrolean is top seed in the port city next week. A revenge for the Melbourne final is just as impossible as Medvedev winning his second title at one venue for the first time. The last time he missed it was in Vienna at the end of October – against Sinner.

New tournament introduced

Meanwhile, a new exhibition tournament has been presented for October, in which Medvedev and Sinner will take part. The remaining players in the “Six Kings Slam” are said to be the Serbian Novak Djokocic, the Spaniards Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz and the Dane Hoger Rune. Exhibitions in the Arab world have so far taken place in November and December. In October, the ATP calendar is full with, among other things, the Masters 1000 events in Shanghai and Paris, which are mandatory for the stars, as well as the Erste Bank Open.