Marseille 2021: Daniil Medvedev vs Jannik Sinner preview, head-to-head & prediction | Open 13 Provence
Match details
Fixture: (1) Daniil Medvedev vs (5) Jannik Sinner
Date: 12 March 2021
Tournament: Open 13 Provence
Round: Quarterfinal
Venue: Marseille, France
Category: ATP 250
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: €334,240
Match timing: Approx. 4.30 pm local time, 9 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel
Daniil Medvedev vs Jannik Sinner preview
The quarterfinal round of the 2021 Open 13 Provence will see a rematch from last year's tournament, featuring Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner.
Medvedev registered a straight-sets win over Belarus' Egor Gerasimov late on Thursday to enter his second quarterfinal of the year. Sinner, meanwhile, booked his last eight spot with a win over Hugo Gaston.
The Italian was at his sharpest in the match against Gaston, winning an incredible 90% points behind his first serve. He also managed to break his opponent on five occasions, and was dominant throughout.
The result was especially significant for Sinner as it would have helped him move past the tight three-set losses that he has had to suffer in his last two main draw appearances. He will need his serve and groundstrokes to work as well as they did against Gaston if he wishes to put up a strong fight against Medvedev.
Daniil Medvedev vs Jannik Sinner head-to-head
The round of 16 meeting between Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner last year at Marseille is the only time the two have played each other on tour. The Russian scored a three-set win on that occasion, and so leads 1-0 in the head-to-head.
Daniil Medvedev vs Jannik Sinner prediction
Daniil Medvedev has gotten off to a flying start in the new season. Barring a first-round exit at the Rotterdam Open last month, he has looked strong in all his matches, and will enter this contest as the firm favorite on paper.
The Russian didn't need to spend a lot of time to find his stride in his first match at Marseille. He was back to his confident self against an in-form opponent, and barely put a foot wrong.
Jannik Sinner will have to rely heavily on the accuracy of his heavy groundstrokes, and not give away anything for free. The Italian would need to find a way to get under his opponent's skin and extract a few unforced errors.
That said, Medvedev has proven to be a hard nut to crack in recent matches. Unless Sinner puts up a tactically flawless performance - akin to Dusan Lajovic's showing at Rotterdam - he will have a hard time coming through this match.
Prediction: Daniil Medvedev to win in three sets.