In August, Daniil Medvedev was defeated by Australian Alex De Minaur in a hard-fought two-set loss at the Canadian Open. The disappointment spurred the Russian on to bigger successes, such as his US Open run, where lost to Novak Djokovic in the final.
De Minaur has always thronged the elite circles of tennis, with his 6-foot stature aiding his powerful baseline stroke play. He has become a giant killer of sorts, with Medvedev being one of his many victims. The Russian, though, possesses a knack for recovering from misfortunes and turning them around into achievements.
Daniil Medvedev defeated Alex De Minaur at China Open
A self-described hard court specialist, Medvedev would have taken his Canadian Open loss to heart. Thus, his meeting with De Minaur at the China Open was a ripe opportunity to seek sweet revenge on World No. 12. And that he did. In around 2 hours, he won 7-6(3), 6-3.
In the first set, Medvedev was pushed to the brink by De Minaur, but when the tiebreak arrived, the Russian took charge and raced to a dominating win. The second set was easier for Medvedev, as he forced his opponent into making many unforced errors.
Finally, when match point arrived, De Minaur tried to make Medvedev run from the depths of the baseline when he dropped the ball short. However, World No. 3 was up to the task and sliced the tennis ball ferociously back at De Minaur, who could only evade the pain of the travelling ball, as opposed to prolonging the point.
Not one to celebrate extravagantly, Medvedev congratulated his opponent and strode off the court as a quarterfinal meeting with Frenchman Ugo Humbert was on the cards in a couple of days.
Daniil Medvedev vs Alex de Minaur head-to-head
The pair have met eight times, with Medvedev winning 75% (6) of the clashes. All of their contests have taken place on hard courts, both indoors and outdoors, with De Minaur’s two victories coming in recent times. The Australian defeated Medvedev last year at the Paris Masters and the 2023 Canadian Open. Both events were ATP 1000 events, which meant the sting of losing valuable points would have hurt Medvedev.
Medvedev has defeated the Australian in ATP events spanning across Australia, Paris, and the USA since 2018. Their only grand slam meeting was in the 2023 US Open, where Medvedev ran out victorious in four sets.
Medvedev will continue his quest towards a maiden China Open title, while De Minaur will look to bounce back in the upcoming Paris Masters. Both events provide much-needed points for players to gather, with Medvedev looking to add to his 7280 points in the ATP ranking system and close the gap on second placed Carlos Alcaraz.
How far can Daniil Medvedev progress in the China Open amid competition from top players like Alcaraz, Rune, and Sinner, among others? Let us know in the comments section below.
