ATP Tour

Rivalries of 2025: Medvedev vs. Zverev

To mark the end of another thrilling season, ATPTour.com is unveiling our annual 'Best Of' series, which will reflect on the most intriguing rivalries, matches, comebacks, upsets and more. This week, we are looking at the best rivalries of the year.

After meeting just once in 2024, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev reignited their long-running rivalry in 2025 with three compelling chapters. Across three high-stakes encounters — one a thriller featuring match-point saves — Medvedev tightened his grip on their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, extending his advantage to 14-8. Here, ATPTour.com revisits their 2025 clashes.

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Halle SFs, Medvedev d. Zverev 7-6(3), 6-7(1), 6-4
Medvedev’s run to his first tour-level final in 15 months fittingly required navigating the opponent who had defined many of the pivotal moments in his career. Their first meeting of the season at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle marked their first on grass in a nine-year rivalry, but it nonetheless unfolded like a microcosm of their long-standing competition: tactical, tense, and stretched thin by momentum swings.

Medvedev built a set-and-a-break lead and even held two match points on return at 6-5 in the second, but Zverev uncorked a sequence of bold, improvised shotmaking. His half-volley winner to end a 21-shot rally sealed the 12th game, and he stormed through the tie-break to force a decider.

But the former World No. 1 Medvedev, so often the steadier force in their recent matchups, struck early and defended immaculately in the final set, during which he saved all four of the break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Though he would fall short in the championship match against Alexander Bublik, the victory served as a renewed reminder of his recent command over Zverev.

"I am happy that in the third set I managed to stay more composed and managed to save those break points,” said Medvedev. “All the matches are very tight [between us]. When the matches are tight like today, they can go any way.”

Beijing QFs, Medvedev d. Zverev 6-3, 6-3
During his run at the China Open in Beijing, Medvedev began to gather some much-needed late-season momentum. His quarter-final against Zverev came at a time when he was beginning to reignite his bid to reach the Nitto ATP Finals, adding meaningful weight to the encounter beyond the scoreboard.

From the outset, Medvedev delivered the type of statement performance he typically reserves for his fiercest rival. According to TDI Insights, his 2025 average Shot Quality sat at 7.7 on the forehand and 7.8 on the backhand — but against Zverev, those numbers spiked to 9.1 and 8.8 respectively, a significant jump that reflects how sharply he elevates when facing the German. The result was a suffocating, start-to-finish display that left Zverev little room to manoeuvre.

It marked Medvedev’s first Top-5 win on hard courts since the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals and helped launch a late surge that included semi-final runs in Beijing and Shanghai, and a title in Almaty. Though he fell just short of a Nitto ATP Finals spot in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, his performance against Zverev stood out as a key catalyst for his revival.

Paris QFs, Zverev d. Medvedev 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5)
Zverev snapped his five-match losing streak against Medvedev with one of his grittiest performances of the season at the Rolex Paris Masters, where the German saved two match points to return to the semi-finals.

The win came at a pivotal moment in both their trajectories: Zverev was defending his crown at the ATP Masters 1000 event, while Medvedev was fighting to keep his Turin hopes alive. Their rivalry had tilted sharply in Medvedev’s favour over the past two years, but Zverev finally broke through by staying aggressive in the tightest passages and refusing to let the match slip — even when he twice stood within a point of defeat on serve at 4-5 in the final set.

“Daniil is kind of my kryptonite, I don’t like playing him,” Zverev said after earning his first win over Medvedev since Cincinnati in 2023. “He’s somebody who has had my number for the last couple of years. The thing I’m most pleased with is the match points saved, the way I continued being brave and in the important moments, winning the match myself.”