Sebastian Korda, who once remarked that he was the ‘favourite’ at the 2023 Wimbledon, before crashing out in the first round to world no.300 Jiří Veselý, lived up to his potential by causing an upset win over Daniil Medvedev on Sunday.
Prior to their meeting, the Russian was on a roll in China. Mere days after he became the China Open runner up, Medvedev backed up his own tag as a favourite by trouncing Cristian Garin in the first round. A second round steamroll was on the cards, but the world no.3 faltered and succumbed to a loss.
Daniil Medvedev talks on loss at Shanghai Masters
In a match that began as a back-and-forth play of astute serving, the first set was decided in a prolonged tiebreak. Sebastian Korda dug hard to win it with a 10-8 scoreline. Daniil Medvedev was primed to elevate the standard of his game in the second set, but surprisingly found himself way short of staging a fight, as the American closed out the match 7-6(8), 6-2.
The 2021 US Open champion found reasons hard to come by as he addressed his upset loss.
“Korda played well. It’s not all about the court, but I think the conditions maybe favoured him a little bit. Yes, a court will always favour one player more than the other, but I don’t think I lost because of that.”, he said.
It is a juxtaposition of situations that could have influenced the result in Shanghai. Korda, a player born and bred on the hard courts of America, could have used all his experience to much benefit against the Russian. But, that reason alone stands no ground as Medvedev is a hard court specialist. Not only has he, on numerous occasions, acknowledged them as his favourite type of court, but comrades like Carlos Alcaraz have called him ‘the man to beat on hard courts’.
Who will Sebastian Korda face after win against Daniil Medvedev
After Korda recorded his biggest win ever in his career, the American will face Argentinian no.20 seed Fransisco Cerundolo.
Cerundolo is a tough opponent to face, as known by several top-ranked players who have faced him in major grand slams and whom Cerundolo has given a run for their money. Possessing strong footwork, endurance and baseline fortitude, the Argentinian is known to be a giant killer in tennis. It will serve Korda well to replicate his performance against Medvedev against Cerundolo, with a strong serve possibly aiding his path to victory.
The pair have never met before, and this is their first ever meeting. Both players sprung up on the tennis stage in 2022, with performances that often showcased the highs of their talent. Cerundolo was recently part of the Federer-developed Laver Cup, where he defeated Davidovich Fokina to help Team World win the title.
Daniil Medvedev, meanwhile, will have time off before he heads to Paris for the Paris Masters 1000 tournament.
What are your opinions on this upset loss for Daniil Medvedev? Will the Russian look at it as an one-off event and fight back to much success in the future? Let us know in the comments section below.
