Athletistic/Tennis. Second seed Daniil Medvedev will face Tommy Paul in the first round of the China Open.

Medvedev had a pretty good season in 2023, winning 55 of 67 matches and winning five titles. The Russian’s last tournament was the US Open, where he took third place.

He opened the American TBS with a crushing victory over Attila Balazs, then scored victories over Christopher O’Connell, Sebastian Baez, Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev to secure his place in the semi-finals. Next, Medvedev met Carlos Alcaraz and beat him in four sets, reaching the final, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in straight sets.

Tommy Paul has won 35 of 57 matches in 2023, including reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open. He was part of the world team that won the Laver Cup this weekend, winning the doubles match and losing the singles match.

Before that, the American was seeded 14th at the US Open and won the opening match against Stefano Travaglia. Then he returned to action after losing two sets and beating Roman Safiullin, and in the third round he defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and reached the fourth round. At this point, the 26-year-old lost to eventual semi-finalist Ben Shelton in four sets.

Medvedev leads 1-0 against Paul, after beating him 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 in the second round of Roland-Garros 2021.

Prediction for the match between Daniil Medvedev and Tommy Paul

Medvedev will be the favorite for the match, but Paul should not be ruled out as he has shown promising performances this season and is capable of giving the Russian a hard time.

Medvedev is one of the best defensive players in the world and is a brilliant counter-attacker who always goes on the offensive when necessary. His hard court game is one of the best in the world, not to mention his serve, which can often earn him quite a few free points thanks to his aces.

Tommy Paul has a decent serve, but his main weapon is his forehand. The American likes to attack from this flank and has a pretty good defensive game. He also has good defensive skills, which can come in handy especially when Medvedev is on the other side of the court.

If both players are in top form, the match should be close. However, given his good hard court form throughout the season, Medvedev should be able to win the match and advance to the second round of the China Open.

Forecast: Medvedev will win in straight sets.

Vyacheslav Gorbachev/Athletistic


@sportru