The Shanghai Masters took place last week. The tournament had a few surprise results. Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas knocked out Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. Zverev advanced to the finals and faced Daniil Medvedev. The Russian, who has been in top form lately, defeated the German player to clinch his 4th title of the year.
Medvedev similar to Djokovic
After the defeat, Zverev talked about Medvedev’s game after the match. The 22-year-old said he is happy about Russian’s dramatic improvement over the twelve months. The Russian has reached six consecutive ATP tournament finals. The German’s pointed out that Medvedev’s confidence was at an all-time high. He compared the 23-year-old to current world number one, Djokovic, who can be difficult to stop once he gets going. “You know, to beat someone like him or to beat someone like the Serbian, you have to be playing good for a longer period of time and not just for one week.”
Zverev problems with the former agent and girlfriend Olya Sharypova
Despite his loss in Shanghai, Zverev was happy with his performance in the tournament. He knocked out Federer in the quarterfinals to improve his record against the 38-year-old to 4-3. “I feel like I’m playing well. I feel like I’m on a very good path again.” It has been a tough year for the 22-year-old. He broke up with his girlfriend Olya Sharypova earlier in the year. The German player’s father also suffered an illness. The German admitted that he was worried about his father’s wellbeing which affected his performances. His father has since recovered. He also had a dispute with his former agent Patricio Apey. The two were involved in a contract dispute but have since settled the matter and gone their separate ways. After parting ways with Patricio, Zverev signed with Federer’s sports management group, Team 8.
After a difficult tennis season, the world No.6 is happy to focus his attention fully on tennis. He is yet to win an ATP title this year. He will aim to improve on that statistic at the Paris Masters which begins on 28th October. The 22-year-old has also qualified for the ATP Finals in London, slated for November. After playing in the finals, he will head to Latin America for a series of exhibition matches with Federer. The two will play matches in Colombia, Mexico, Chile, and Ecuador. Zverev has faced criticism for choosing to play the matches instead of the Davis Cup finals in Madrid.
Daniil Medvedev’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.4 (career-high), the Russian played his last match on the 13th of October when he beat Alexander Zverev 6-4 6-1 in the final in Shanghai to win his 7th career title.
This year the Russian has a 58-17 win-loss record. The Russian conquered 4 titles in 2019 in Sofia, in Cincinnati, in St. Petersburg and in Shanghai. Daniil was the finalist in Brisbane, in Barcelona, in Washington, in Montreal and at the U.S. Open.
Novak Djokovic’s ranking and performance in 2019
Currently the world no.1, Novak played his last match on the 11th of October when he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6 7-5 6-3 in the quarter in Shanghai.
This year Novak has a 48-9 win-loss record. The Serbian clinched 4 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Madrid, in Wimbledon and in Tokyo. Novak was the finalist in Rome.
Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic played each other 5 times. The head to head is 3-2 for Djokovic.
The last time that they locked horns, Daniil Medvedev won 3-6 6-3 6-3 in the semifinal in Cincinnati in 17th August 2019.
Here the highlights.
Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic |
| Embed from Getty Images |
