Daniil Medvedev - the really big test is still pending
Daniil Medvedev has won the last seven matches against competitors from the top ten. A success against Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal in a major has not yet succeeded the Russian.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jan 19, 2021, 03:24 pm
The great art of shining with statistics is choosing the right time to present those statistics to the public. If the ATP had taken care of Daniil Medvedev's record against top ten players after the ATP Tour 500 tournament in Vienna - the Russian would not have come off well with nine wins in 28 games. But then Medvedev put in a series, first at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Paris-Bercy, then at the ATP Finals in London.
In the latter case, the competition is naturally always composed of the Bel Etage, Medvedev had two more victories in Paris against Diego Schwartzman and Alexander Zverev. Et voila: Suddenly the rate of the current number four in the world against opponents from the top ten is 45.7 percent. How random this statistic is is shown by the following circumstance: If Medvedev had not won the last match of the season against Dominic Thiem , the Austrian would be in fifth place with exactly the same odds as his conqueror from London.
Djokovic, Nadal, Federer in their own league
However, it should not be overlooked that Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer play in their own league. And Andy Murray lives somewhere in between. The Scot has a clearly positive record with a 55.1 percent win rate against the top ten. But it is clearly lagging behind the Big Three.
Because Federer currently holds 64.6 percent, Nadal is marginally better with 64.7 percent. Industry leader Novak Djokovic is quite comfortably in the lead with 68.3 percent. And the biggest test for Daniil Medvedev is still pending: While Dominic Thiem has defeated both Djokovic and Nadal at least once in Grand Slam tournaments, Medvedev still has this sense of achievement ahead of him. Even if it was very close in the 2019 US Open final against Nadal.
Here are the top five active players against the top ten
| rank | player | Record against top 10 | Quota |
| 1 | Novak Djokovic | 215: 100 | 68.3% |
| 2 | Rafael Nadal | 174: 95 | 64.7% |
| 3 | Roger Federer | 224: 123 | 64.6% |
| 4th | Andy Murray | 102: 83 | 55.1% |
| 5 | Daniil Medvedev | 16:19 | 45.7% |