“It’s not about mentality”: Medvedev rejects the nerves theory after Wimbledon collapse
Daniil Medvedev rejected the idea that nerves cost him as he was beaten by Jan-Lennard Struff in the Wimbledon third round despite leading every set, the 2021 US Open champion admitting his instinct for solving big matches is deserting him in a difficult season.
Daniil Medvedev and Jen-Lennart Struff, Wimbledon 2026 | © Juergen Hasenkopf/Psnewz
Daniil Medvedev led by a break in every set, held set points, and still lost in straight sets – and yet, pressed repeatedly on whether his mind had failed him, he refused the explanation. “It’s not about mentality,” he said after a chastening Wimbledon third-round exit on Friday.
The No. 8 seed was beaten 7-6, 7-6, 7-5 by Jan-Lennard Struff, undone in the tight moments of three close sets. In details, Medvedev had led 3-1 and reached 0-30 on the German’s serve in the first, served at 5-2 and was two points away from the set at 5-4 in the second, and led 5-2 with two set points in the third – only to lose the last five games without reply.
Medvedev : “just finish the set”
Twice asked whether being ahead had let him subconsciously relax, the 2021 US Open champion pushed back both times. “It’s just about being better in that moment,” Medvedev said. “Here it’s a third round, break up, just finish the set. Next match I’m probably going to do it.”
His own diagnosis was blunter and more technical. “I didn’t manage to serve exactly the way I wanted,” he told the reporters. “He was better in the important points today.” The failing, in his telling, was execution under pressure rather than any collapse of nerve – a distinction he was insistent on drawing.
The defeat deepens a difficult year. Medvedev has now failed to reach the quarter finals at any of the four Grand Slams in 2025 and 2026, and he did not hide his frustration at squandering a tournament he fancied. “Up and down, and a bit more on the down side lately,” he said of his season. “I felt like I could do potentially well in Wimbledon.”
More troubling to him than any single loss was the erosion of a quality he once counted on. Medvedev built his best years on solving matches on the biggest stages, and he sensed that instinct fading. “The more the stakes, the Grand Slams, the more I would be able to [find solutions],” he said. “Now it’s not exactly the case.”
Medvedev’s most recent Slams results
- Australian Open 2025: 2nd round
- Roland-Garros 2025: 1st round
- Wimbledon 2025: 1st round
- US Open 2025: 1st round
- Australian Open 2026: 4th round
- Roland-Garros 2026: 1st round
- Wimbledon 2026: 3rd round
He was clear about what still keeps him on court. “The principal is the competition. I just want to win every time I step on the court,” Medvedev said. “The only way is to go forward and try to do better next time,” he said.
In Paris, after is early exit against Walton, Medvedev said to Tennis Majors: “I don’t think I lost the ability to perform in Grand Slams.”
His explanation was less about himself than the game around him: that the majors have shifted beneath his feet. “If we compared all four Grand Slams to five years ago, the game is different, and I don’t think it suits me well,” he said. The first round, he added, is the hurdle – “once I get through it, maybe I can do better.” “I do think it can come back any moment,” he added. “At Wimbledon for instance”.
