Daniil Medvedev anticipates his duel against Christian Garin: “He went through a complicated situation, but he is a great player”

This Saturday (03:00), world number three, Daniil Medvedev, will face Chilean Christian Garin (98th ATP) at the Masters 1000 in Shanghai. A special duel for the northerner, who has not played with a Top 5 since July when he faced Casper Ruud in Hamburg.

Of course, the Chinese rival has a completely different plan from the Norwegian. Medvedev is having one of the best seasons of his career, managing to win titles in Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai and the Masters 1000 in Miami and Rome. He also reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon and lost the finals of the Indian Wells Masters 1000 and the US Open. Last week, he returned from losing the duel for the ATP 500 title in Beijing, where he lost to Jannik Sinner (7th).

This is why the duel will be complex for Garin, who beat Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 7-6 in the first round. But the Russian is not confident, quite the contrary. During a press conference for the event, he had great words for the national tennis player, although he admitted that he was going through a difficult time on the tour.

“We have played several times before, but not recently. We practiced several times last year. He’s a great player, he was in the top 20 if I’m not mistaken. He’s been through a tough situation lately, but he won his first round match and is used to the conditions. “So I know it will be hard, I have to do my best,” he said of the former world number 17.

Medvedev, 2021 US Open champion, also gave his opinion on other topics to specialized media, focusing on his current moment and the sensations of being the title holder of the tournament (which has no longer been played since 2019 due to Covid).

Regarding the first, he was completely honest. “It’s been a great season. I would have loved to win a Grand Slam, but if you leave them aside, this is probably my best season. At Wimbledon and the US Open, I had a very good streak s. Lots of titles, big victories, really consistent, and it’s not over. I want to try to finish on a very strong note here in Shanghai,” Daniil explained at a press conference.

Finally, he spoke about the particularity of being the reigning champion of a tournament that took place four years ago. “I am not approaching it as a new tournament, but nor as a tournament in which I defend the title. I approach it as another tournament on the circuit in which I have played three times and which I love, in which I have a lot of memories, but I do not have the impression of having won it the year last and come and defend the trophy. . “I’m happy to fight for him this year,” he concluded.