A turning point in certain rivalries often indicates when a player with great promise finally lives up to their potential on the grandest of stages.
For instance, Australian former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt claimed seven of his first nine meetings with a burgeoning Roger Federer before the Swiss turned the tables and owned 16 of their final 18 showdowns.
Another former No.1, Daniil Medvedev, hopes he is not in the midst of a similar trend against the world’s newest Grand Slam singles champion, Jannik Sinner.
Unbeaten in their first six encounters, Medvedev has fallen in the subsequent five – all on hard court.
On Tuesday, the pair will meet for the 12th time – their first rematch since the Miami final and second since their most celebrated showdown in this year’s Australian Open decider – in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.
Fifth seed Medvedev admitted the new world No.1 was a different prospect to when they first met in 2020.
“When Jannik came on tour, straightaway everyone was a little bit, not shocked but like how strong he hits, how he can run fast and hit strong from every position of the court. But he was missing a lot and hence, losing a lot some matches,” Medvedev said.
“As soon as he stopped missing less, well, now it's very tough to beat him for anyone. Not only for me. That's why he's No. 1 in the world.
LORENZI: "Jannik Sinner maybe can be better than football"
“I do think, if I'm not mistaken, by statistics I usually play better against No.1s in the world than maybe some other guys. Let's see if it helps me against Jannik. But, again, yeah, he misses less, serves much better. His serve was not as good before.
“Small details makes big difference in tennis. It's definitely tougher to play him now than before. (Our) matches were close. I had my chances. I'll try to use them better this time.”
For the record, Medvedev is 6-5 against world No.1s. After benefitting from 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov’s retirement due to a knee issue at 5-3 in the opening set in the fourth round, he would love nothing more than to add Sinner to his list.
Both men reached the semifinals at the All England Club last year before lopsided defeats – Medvedev to eventual champion Alcaraz and Sinner to defending champion Djokovic.
EXPERT PICKS: Who will win Wimbledon in 2024?
WIMBLEDON: Lulu Sun, Kiwi qualifier with global connections, into quarters
The 28-year-old Medvedev has not had it all his own way this fortnight, conceding sets to Alexandre Muller and Jan-Lennard Struff back-to-back.
After a tricky four-set opener against Yannik Hanfmann and a nailbiting three-hour, 42-minute scrap with countryman Matteo Berrettini, Sinner has cruised.
Fourteenth seed Ben Shelton was his latest victim and could not muster a set.
Following his momentous comeback from two sets down to deny Medvedev at Melbourne Park in January, Sinner was not reading too heavily into that result, their most recent at a major.
“I still think that every match has its own story, especially I felt like in Australia we had two different matches in one match,” Sinner said. “It's going to be tough for both of us. I practised with him earlier in the week. He was playing really good.
“I think the key is a little bit different because the surface is different. We have to see. I think for both of us it's going to be very important how we serve.
“On grass, it's the most important shot. Then we see. It's going to be for sure some long rallies, physical match. This I know already. I hope to be ready.”
The winner will face either reigning champion Alcaraz or 12th seed Tommy Paul.