Daniil Medvedev Discusses How He Played Without Fear at One Stage During the 2025 Season

Daniil Medvedev reached at least the quarter-finals of all the tournaments he played during the Asian swing this season.

Daniil Medvedev Discusses How He Played Without Fear at One Stage During the 2025 Season

Daniil Medvedev (Image via X/TENNISCentel)

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Daniil Medvedev endured one of the worst seasons of his career on the ATP Tour in 2025, winning just one title and ending outside the Top 10. The former World No.1 has now revealed that during the Asian swing, he was the best player on tour after just Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

The Russian star fell outside the Top 10 for the first time since February 2023, following several poor results on the court. Medvedev failed to make it past the second round of a Grand Slam this year. He won only one match at the Australian Open before crashing out, but recorded first-round exits at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

Medvedev was heavily criticized for his poor performance in major tournaments, notably during the US Open, where he turned the crowd against the umpire. However, after the New York Grand Slam, he parted ways with most of his coaching team and hired Thomas Johansson, who helped return him to form during the Asian swing.

The World No.13 opened his Asian swing campaign with a quarter-final finish at the Hangzhou Open. He defeated Alexander Zverev to reach the semi-finals of the China Open, but ultimately couldn’t compete at his best against Learner Tien as he struggled physically. At the Shanghai Masters, he picked up big wins against Alex de Minaur and Tien.

He reached the semi-finals, but failed to get over the line against an in-form Arthur Rinderknech in the final four. At the Almaty Open, he claimed his first title after 882 days of title drought. During an interview with Bolshe, Medvedev revealed that the Asian swing was one moment in the season that he played his best tennis:

There are examples of players who that has happened to. Maybe I will never play the way I used to. But pretty quickly, even before Beijing and Shanghai, during practice in Monaco I was hitting so well that probably only Sinner or Alcaraz could beat me. That was before China.And that was when I was like, ‘okay, I can still do it’. The fear went away. There are some fears. They come, and they go.

Medvedev finished the season with 42 wins and 23 losses. He was a contender for a place in the ATP Finals in Turin, following his incredible run during the Asian swing, but he failed to back it up with an excellent run during the indoor hard-court swing.

Daniil Medvedev happy that he didn’t win his opening round match at the US Open following his controversial actions

Daniil Medvedev got himself into trouble during the US Open, where he displayed an uncharacteristic attitude on the court. He faced Benjamin Bonzi in the opening round of the tournament and, during the match, turned the crowd against the umpire and tried to play a bizarre mind game against his French opponent.

Daniil Medvedev Washington Open 2025
Daniil Medvedev (imagev via Getty)

However, he lost the match 3-6, 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-0, 4-6, crashing out of the tournament. During the aforementioned interview, Medvedev revealed that he’s glad that he did not win the match due to his controversial attitude:

I’d be upset because what happened, especially on match point. Before that, I didn’t behave well either, but if I lost the third set 6-4, not many people would remember that match. It would’ve all been quick and easy. But it happened on the match point. Bonzi had nothing to do with it, it was the umpire… Deep down, I’m glad I didn’t win, because it would have been very ugly towards him, and I wouldn’t want that.

Medvedev was later fined $42,500 for his actions, which was one of the biggest fines in the US Open history. The Russian star will hope fans have forgiven him for his attitude on the court as he will always be remembered for it, especially at the US Open, which he won in 2021 after beating Novak Djokovic in the final.

Also Read: Aryna Sabalenka Reveals Biggest Lesson of 2025 Season Which Helped Her Defend US Open Crown