“Still win a lot of money,” Daniil Medvedev firmly brushes off retirement rumors after Rotterdam Open exit
Daniil Medvedev faced a two-hour, 55-minute defeat to an unseeded Mattia Bellucci in the second round of the Rotterdam Open.
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Daniil Medvedev (via X)
After the shock Australian Open second-round defeat, Daniil Medvedev failed to go beyond the second round of the Rotterdam Open. It was Italy’s Mattia Bellucci who upset the second seed with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 in a two-hour, 55-minute clash.
Medvedev kickstarted the 2025 season at the Australian Open. He somehow fended off Thailand’s Kasidit Samrej in the first round but couldn’t overcome 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals runner-up Learner Tien, losing the second-round match in five sets, which also included three tie-breaks.
It was at the Melbourne Slam Medvedev reached the final three times, including in 2024. His poor run of forms led to retirement speculations but Medvedev said that he didn’t even think of calling time on his career as he is hoping to get his form back.
No, I mean, I don’t even know what to say about this. I like tennis, still win a lot of money, so I’m going to continue playing till I can do it. If I drop out of top 100, then I don’t know, but this is probably not going to happen. And I’m pretty sure I can come back strong enough. That’s it.
Daniil Medvedev said at the press conference
Medvedev has now lost two times to a qualifier this season. Bellucci, on the other hand, achieved his first top-10 win. The 23-year-old will next lock horns with sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or Tallon Griekspoor.
Daniil Medvedev lost to a left-hander for the second time in 2025
Daniil Medvedev is 3-6 against left-handers since reaching the quarterfinals of the 2024 Shanghai Masters. The Russian tennis ace, on the ATP Tour, on the other hand, is 38-22 against left-handers. A couple of those defeats came in 2025 as Learner Tien and Mattia Bellucci are both left-handers.
Medvedev’s defeat to Bellucci won’t affect his rankings as he will stay on the 7th position when the rankings will be updated next Monday. But he could lose the spot if he faces early defeats in a couple of tournaments in Doha, Dubai, and Indian Wells.
Medvedev, in spite of reaching multiple finals, is yet to win his first title since the 2023 Italian Open. Amid a poor run of forms, the 28-year-old parted ways with French coach Gilles Simon, though Gilles Cervara will continue to work with him.
Medvedev is set to be back at the Qatar Open following which he will play the Dubai Tennis Championships. Last year, Medvedev skipped the event in Doha but reached the semifinals in Dubai.
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Gouri Das
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