Daniil Medvedev was dumped out of Rotterdam by a qualifier (Image: Getty)
has addressed fears that he could retire from tennis after suffering another brutal defeat.
The second seed in Rotterdam was dumped out by world No. 92 Mattia Bellucci on Wednesday night.
Medvedev has now lost to lower-ranked qualifiers at back-to-back events, as in the second round of the .
The world No. 7 now has a record of 2-2 in matches this year. He lost his latest contest to Belucci
The Italian came through qualifying to reach the main draw in Rotterdam and earned the biggest win of his career against Medvedev, winning 6-3 6-7(8) 6-3.
A former champion in Rotterdam, Medvedev has been struggling for form so far in 2025. One of his two victories came against Kasidit Samrej in the first round of the .
Even that was a tough battle for the three-time finalist in Melbourne, as Medvedev was forced to come back from two sets to one down to defeat the world No. 416.
Woeld No. 92 Mattia Bellucci earned the biggest win of his career over Daniil Medvedev (Image: Getty)
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Medvedev’s recent performances have left some questioning whether he could make the drastic decision to retire. A former world No. 1 and Grand Slam champion at the 2021 US Open, Medvedev has not lifted a title at any level in almost two years.
But the 28-year-old isn’t planning on walking away from the sport, as he admitted the money was good. “I don’t think that’s going to happen soon,” Medvedev said of retirement.
“I like tennis, I’m still winning a lot of money, so I’m going to continue playing until I can’t do it. If I drop out of top 100, then I don’t know. But this is probably not going to happen.”
The 20-time title winner also believes he can rediscover his best form, though he’s not sure how long it will take.
He added: “I’m pretty sure I can come back strong enough. The question is, when? Tomorrow? Next month? In 12 months? This, I don’t know.”
Medvedev’s loss to Bellucci was a similar story to his match against Tien in Australia. The Russian couldn’t take advantage of his opportunities and wasn’t able to play how he wanted.
“Not playing my best tennis at the moment,” the world No. 7 continued.
“I had my chances, I should have played better, more consistently, hit some better shots, but I didn’t manage to do it, and he took his chance, played pretty well overall.
“The story of the match is that, in my opinion, I played very badly, and I almost won it. So, in one way, it’s a good sign. In another way, I don’t want to play like that.”