Daniil Medvedev hasn't played since the US Open final, but he'll return at the China Open in Beijing in the coming days against Tommy Paul.
The last time we saw Daniil Medvedev play was in the US Open final getting beaten by Novak Djokovic easily. It was a totally different Medvedev from the one that handed Carlos Alcaraz a pretty painful loss a few days before the final.
Nobody knows what really happened, but the Russian will continue his season at the China Open, where he'll take on American Tommy Paul in the opening round. It's a pretty tricky matchup, considering how unpredictable Paul can be.
He can be amazing but also inconsistent and sometimes both in the same match. Medvedev certainly knows what having played against Paul before so he'll be ready for it.
Head-to-head:
The aforementioned match between the players happened on clay at the 2021 Roland Garros. It's not the best surface for either player, but Paul still snatched a set. He can do even better on hard courts, especially after playing really strong tennis this year.
Prediction:
The problem for Paul is that Medvedev has played even better than him, both recently and generally. The Russian also has the perfect game for the American, sort of like an antidote. Paul loves to play attacking tennis and does it really well, but he's pretty streaky.
He rarely sustains his peaks for a long time because he'd be ranked number one if he did. As a superb defender who covers the court well, Medvedev has all the tools to deconstruct Paul's game, and I suspect it will happen.
Sure, there is a minor chance that Paul blows him off the court like Seyboth Wild did earlier this year at Roland Garros, but that happens once in a blue moon.
Prediction: Daniil Medvedev to win in two sets.
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