Daniil Medvedev has begun his quest to defend the Shanghai Masters Title, which he won in 2019, on a rather convincing note by defeating Cristian Garin of Chile, 6-3,6-3. The tournament has returned to the Chinese city after it was on a hiatus due to COVID restrictions. But, there was a peculiar reason about the event, that seemed to be bothering the Russian.
In the post-match interview after his victory, Daniil Medvedev chose to make a scathing remark on the state of courts this time around in Shanghai. Saying that it probably used to be the fastest on tour, Daniil quipped, “Now, I don’t know what’s slower, here or Indian Wells….”. He meant that the court conditions have slowed down considerably so that it is comparable to the surfaces at Indian Wells.
An update on the court speed: Courtesy of @DaniilMedwed 🎙️#RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/1yHha4q6Ho
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 7, 2023
Medvedev lamented the fact that, to play back-to-back tournaments in quick succession, with different balls on different surfaces is quite tricky. But, he was quick to add that one has to live with it and adapt accordingly. Saying that, “He has been playing well on slower hard courts, throughout this season….”, the Russian concluded that it is what he will be trying to do at Shanghai as well.
Sebastian Korda dashes Daniil Medvedev’s hopes of defending the Shanghai Masters title
Though it has taken four long years for the event to return to the city, Daniil acknowledges, “This title is really strong in my memory.” In the final, the Russian got past Alexander Zverev comfortably, and it was the season wherein he went on to clinch his first two ATP Masters 1000 titles, at Cincinnati and Shanghai. It proved to be the spark that eventually would spur him on to better things in the future.
Medvedev confessed that it was the tournament that put all his self-doubts to rest. There were questions surrounding him, whether he could replicate the success he had in the U.S. leg of the tour in 2019. The fact that he managed to do it meant that it did his confidence, a world of good. Also, he felt he shared a nice camaraderie with the tournament and the city.
But, it was not meant to be for Daniil Medvedev, as he lost his bid to defend the title by getting ousted by Sebastian Korda in the third round. The first set was a pretty tight affair, with neither of them facing a single break point. Korda saved three set points in the tie-break, to eventually take it 10-8. The American broke early in the second set and didn’t lose the tempo from there on to take the match, 7-6(8),6-2.
It was the second time that the Russian has gone down Sebastian Korda, this year. Their previous meeting was at the Australian Open when the American went on to register a straight-sets victory in the third round. Up next for Daniil Medvedev would be the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, where he will also be entering as the defending champion, having won it in 2022.