Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev will meet in one of the most exciting fourth-round matches at the 2024 Shanghai Masters.
The two players are among the fiercest rivals on the ATP Tour. It all started in their first meeting at the 2018 Miami Open, which Medvedev won 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. After the match, Tsitsipas seemingly hurled some words at his opponent, after which the Russian player hit back with a few remarks.
It's one of the most hilarious exchanges in recent history, obviously for those watching home from the couch, but they have grown a lot since then. Still, the rivalry is as strong as ever.
Only recently, Medvedev and Tsitsipas were teammates at the Laver Cup in Berlin, during which the Russian player detailed their relationship, explaining that while they are certainly not the best friends, they found a way to respect each other.
Tsitsipas had similar comments about their relationship. He stated that while the start was toxic, they can now respect each other's qualities. They even practiced together this year in Indian Wells. Still, it doesn't make this match any less exciting.
At the 2024 Shanghai Masters, the fourth-seeded Medvedev started with a win over Thiago Seyboth Wild, 7-5, 7-5, before also beating Matteo Arnaldi 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. However, it was anything but a simple cruise for him.
Medvedev complained a lot about the balls used in Shanghai, as he was not happy about them, saying that they were not on the professional level. The Russian player stated that he couldn't generate any power as the balls were 'dead'.
Tsitsipas, on the other hand, had different problems. After beating Kei Nishikori in his first match, 7-6(6), 6-4, he had to wait almost 96 hours before stepping onto the court again, as his third-round match was postponed a few times.
Because of that, he beat Alexandre Muller, 6-3, 7-5, on Tuesday, while Medvedev had time to rest since Sunday. Their match will be played already on Wednesday.
Head-to-head:
After winning the first match of this rivalry, Medvedev kept the winning record also in the following matches. He actually won the first five matches the two played, leading the H2H 5-0 at the time.
Since then, Tsitsipas managed to keep it level at 4-4, with his first win coming at the 2019 ATP Finals, which he ended up sensationally winning. They also met in Shanghai previously. In 2019, Medvedev won the match 7-6(5), 7-5.
Naturally, the Russian player leads also their hard-court record, 7-3, but Tsitsipas managed to win two of their last three hard-court matches. While Medvedev won last year in Vienna, 6-4, 7-6(6), the Greek player won two hard-court matches in 2022, first in Cincinnati, 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-3, and then at the ATP Finals, 6-3, 6-7(11), 7-6(1).
| Stefanos Tsitsipas | Daniil Medvedev | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | H2H | 9 |
| 12 | Rank | 5 |
| 26 | Age | 28 |
| 39-18 | 2024 W/L | 44-17 |
| 339-161 | Career W/L | 377-153 |
Prediction:
Despite Tsitsipas' recent success against Medvedev, it's still the former World No. 1 player who is heavily favored to win this match, simply because of his hard-court qualities and winning record in this rivalry.
Still, like in any other rivalry, the match can go either way, and it wouldn't be surprising if Tsitsipas won at least a set. From there, anything can happen.
Prediction: Daniil Medvedev to win in three sets.
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