Cervara on Medvedev's lost final against Sinner at the Australian Open: "Like a cyclist, he lost strength on the climb".

Before seeing his protégé kick off his 2025 season in Melbourne, Gilles Cervara spoke to Russian media outlet Championnat about Daniil Medvedev's year in 2024.

The Russian, ranked 5th in the world, failed to win a title this year, although he came very close to winning the Australian Open by leading two sets to nil in the final against Jannik Sinner.

A defeat on which the French coach reflected: "I can compare this match to the Tour de France.

Daniil was like a leading cyclist with one kilometer to go, but he started to lose strength on the last climb.

He gave it his all. The whole tournament was crazy. I remember the second round against Ruusuvuori. He kept turning to me for help.

And I said to him: 'Daniil, please stop. You're shooting yourself in the foot. Don't think about me, concentrate on your opponent'.

I'm proud of this tournament. Daniil didn't play very well, but he found the passion to come through every time."