Daniil Medvedev is determined to bounce back from losing the US Open final a few weeks ago as he embarks on his first appearance at the China Open.
Medvedev is the second seed at the prestigious ATP 500 event in Beijing where eight of the world's Top 10 will be in action. The ATP Tour made its first pitstop on Chinese soil since 2019 this past week with a couple of ATP 250s, but the categories and level of competition will go up a level, first in Beijing and then in Shanghai.
The Russian is one of the heavy favorites to add to his trophy haul during the Asian swing. Medvedev is the ATP's joint leader on hard courts in 2023, winning four titles (level with Novak Djokovic) and owns an unrivaled 38 match wins to boot.
Medvedev will need to go through a sticky patch during the week. He is slated to face American Tommy Paul, ranked 13th in the world rankings, as early as the first round. He is projected to meet top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
And while Medvedev has happy memories from their last outing when he defeated the Spaniard in the high-stakes US Open semifinal a few weeks back, he is not getting ahead of himself given the strength of the playing field in Beijing, comparing it to a Masters 1000 or a Grand Slam.
"It's my first time in Beijing. The tournament is super strong. So if you win it, it's great. It's a great memory. It's great for the confidence. There are still some important tournaments to come, so the better you play at the end of the season, the better you play at the beginning of the next one."
"The motivation is to try to do all this, to continue proving to yourself that you can win these big tournaments, big titles, against big opponents."
"I think if we face each other, we are both happy, we are both in the final. That's a good goal, to try to make this happen. At the same time, as I said, so many good players. It's tough. It's like an ATP Masters 1000 here or a Grand Slam."
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