For the first time in three encounters at tour level, former world number one Daniil Medvedev succeeded in beating American teenager Learner Tien, 7-6(6), 6-7(1), 6-4 after a two-hour, 52-minute dramatic match, securing his spot at the Rolex Shanghai Masters quarterfinals.
In his on-court interview, the 29-year-old commented: “I think the toughest part was that we played two times [before], and in my opinion, he is an unbelievable player, because he doesn’t have a great serve and serve is so important in tennis. Without the serve, he is 19 years old and 30-something in the world and only going up.”
Last week in Beijing, the world No. 36 got the better of the former US Open champion, who retired from the third set of their semifinal match at the China Open due to cramps.
On Wednesday night, they met again, but this time Medvedev flipped the script, fighting through cramps in the second set and the intense heat to produce an enthralling comeback, setting up a clash against seventh seed Alex de Minaur, yet to drop a set at the event.
“For me to beat him… I thought I was going to lose. I was cramping again, and I’m just super happy to manage to do it,” he added.
Earlier in the day, the Australian player recorded a 7-5, 6-2 victory over in-form Nuno Borges, his 50th of the season, in one hour and 47 minutes to reach the last eight in Shanghai for the first time.
The Match as It Happened
The 2019 champion found his way past the player trained by Michael Chang in a nail-biter 75-minute opening set.
After getting broken when serving for the match 5-4, the 29-year-old reacted by breaking straight back.
Medvedev stepped up the pressure over his opponent, who stayed sharp on the defense, fending off three break points to hold his ground in a lengthy game.
With two double faults, the 20-time ATP titlist put himself against the wall; however, he managed to save a set point to tie the scoreline 6-6, forcing a high-quality tiebreaker he eventually sealed 8-6.
Despite a physically demanding opener, the Moscow native picked up where he left off, breaking in the second set to open a 3-0 lead.
From there, a tight set began to unfold with Tien rising to the occasion, breaking back in the fifth and seventh games.
Medvedev responded by converting a double break in the tenth game, tying the scoreline at 5-5.
By then, the early signs of cramps in his right leg became impossible to hide; he was limping on the court just before heading into another tiebreak.
A brief visit by the doctor, and when play resumed, the young American seized his chances, rushing to a 3-0 advantage, which he would extend to 7-1, even the contest to one set apiece.
Concerns about another potential retirement quickly surged, but his body and mind had other plans in store.
Despite erratic showings by both sides of the net, gifting one another double faults throughout a decider, the 16th seed made the difference on serve, winning 90 percent of the points on his first delivery.
In the ninth game, he converted a clinical break, hitting a backhand forcing shot, and held at 6-4 to surge to victory in adversity.
It’s been a complicated season for a player who has failed to win a title since 2023.
Late in August, after an early exit at the US Open and a series of controversial episodes on court, he and Gilles Cervara, the Russian’s coach since 2017, went their separate ways.
A month later, he kicked off the Asian swing at the Hangzhou Open, where he held a pre-tournament press conference, announcing his collaboration with Thomas Johansoon and Rohan Goetzke for the remainder of the season.
“It’s not been an easy decision, but I’m happy to try with them for the remainder of the season and then for the [next] season, I’m going to see how it goes,” he stressed at the time.
“I love the way they work. I love what they say, and it’s an interesting new project in my career.”
The early stages of their partnership have seen the former Nitto ATP Finals winner moving through the semifinals in Beijing and the quarterfinals, thus far, in Shanghai, delivering consistent tennis performances.
Medvedev leads De Minaur in their series 7-4; their most recent match took place in Monte-Carlo, a dominant two-set win for the world No. 7 on a different surface, the red clay.