Daniil Medvedev booked his place in the semifinals of the China Open after defeating Alexander Zverev in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
In Medvedev’s second tournament with a new coaching team, the Russian has reached the final four of a tour-level event for the first time since the Halle Open in June.
The former world number one has shown promising signs so far in Beijing under the wing of newly appointed Thomas Johansson, and has yet to drop a set at the tournament ahead of his next clash with Learner Tien.
After triumphing over Zverev, the first top-five player he has beaten on hard court since November 2023, Medvedev gave his verdict on his own level at the China Open.
Daniil Medvedev reacts to his win against Alexander Zverev
In an interview on Sky Sports, he said of the win: “I played great. I was controlling the game pretty well. I felt like I had all the chances.
“He had only, I think, one game on my serve where he put a lot of pressure on me. Other than that, I think I put a lot of pressure on him, and played great.”
Medvedev is through to the 60th tour-level semifinal of his career, becoming just the sixth active player to reach such a tally.
- Novak Djokovic: 197 semifinals
- Alexander Zverev: 76 semifinals
- Gael Monfils: 73 semifinals
- Marin Cilic: 67 semifinals
- Stan Wawrinka: 64 semifinals
- Daniil Medvedev: 60 semifinals
He said of the feat “I mean it’s great, but I always want more and, you know, in the beginning of your career numbers are important.
“When you achieve a lot, it’s more about just doing your best, and I haven’t been doing my best. I’m happy to be back in the semis and playing great, beating great opponents. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
When asked whether he feels he is improving, Medvedev responded: “I definitely played as I wanted to today.
“Not missing much, aggressive when I need to, defensive when I need to, running great, so I’m definitely improving and looking forward to trying to improve even more.”
Daniil Medvedev claims his 14th win over Alexander Zverev
Medvedev has now secured his 14th win over Zverev on the ATP Tour, in what is becoming a rather one-sided rivalry.
The former US Open champion has emerged victorious in their last five meetings and has won 13 of their last 15.
Zverev’s last victory against Medvedev came at the Cincinnati Open in 2023, and since then, he has only managed to take three sets off his Beijing conqueror.
The German has recorded seven wins in their head-to-head, with four of them coming before 2019.
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