Fresh off a first career victory over Matteo Berrettini in the Paris Masters first round, Alexei Popyrin aims to upset Daniil Medvedev in Wednesday's round-two match.
The Australian player notched a tight two-set success to set up a fourth ATP Tour match-up with the former champion in Paris.
Match preview
Popyrin's indifferent form heading into his tournament-opening match with Berrettini meant the Italian was backed to triumph in the pair's third tour-level encounter.
However, the Canadian Masters champion secured a 7-5, 7-6(2) success over the 28-year-old, taking him to 27-21 for the season, having entered the competition losing three of his previous four matches on the tour.
He aims to continue that momentum against Medvedev, but he must play peak tennis to pick a first win against the Russian and improve his 0-3 record against the six-time Masters champion.
For that outcome, Popyrin will need to improve on his break-point conversion — he put away two of 13 chances against Berrettini — and be more adept on second deliveries, following his 58% success in Tuesday's first-round victory.
It remains to be seen which version of Medvedev comes to the court on Wednesday, given the former Paris Champion and one-time runner-up's mixed 2024.
The Russian has struggled on serve this year, strikingly double-faulting with reckless abandon in multiple games this season, with that number 270 heading into his first match at the ATP 1000 tournament.
The world No. 5, still seeking his first title of the season, has made 61% of first serves, winning 73% of points on those deliveries, but he has won 49% of second-serve points before his first match in the French tournament.
Regardless of those mishaps on serve, the 20-time champion has avoided tournament-opening losses in his previous three tournaments and hopes to extend that sequence against Popyrin.
After putting early eliminations in Canada and Cincinnati behind him with a quarter-final run in Shanghai, Medvedev aims for another deep run in the final Masters event this year.
With ATP Finals participation confirmed, ending his trophy drought is atop his priority list in Paris.
Tournament so far
Alexei Popyrin:
First round: vs. Matteo Berrettini 7-5 7-6(2)
Daniil Medvedev:
First round: Bye
Head To Head
Miami Masters (2021) - Round of 32: Medvedev 7-6(3) 6-7(7) 6-4
Australian Open (2020) - Third round: Medvedev 6-4 6-3 6-2
Wimbledon (2019) - Second round: Medvedev 6-7 6-1 6-4 6-4
Medvedev leads his head-to-head with Popyrin and seeks to notch his fourth consecutive triumph against the Australian.
The 25-year-old has a mixed record against top-10 players, clinching 10 wins in 15 matches, including victories against Grigor Dimitrov, Hubert Hurkacz and Andrey Rublev at his successful Canadian Masters run before notching a stunning four-set win over Novak Djokovic at the US Open.
We say: Medvedev to win in three sets
Although Medvedev may be slightly rusty, having not played competitive tennis in a fortnight since exiting in Shanghai, we expect the Russian to eke out a victory despite Popyrin's motivation to win his 11th match against elite opposition.
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