Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev rekindle their rivalry at the Shanghai Masters when they face off for the 14th time in Wednesday's fourth round.
The Greek player was undaunted by the inclement weather that delayed his third-round match with Alexandre Muller by two days to set up a first match-up with the world No. 5 since October 2023 in Vienna.
Match preview
Tsitsipas was always the favourite to notch success against Muller in his round-three match, and he avoided complications in the 6-3, 7-5 success.
The 10th seed is yet to drop a set in Shanghai after beating Kei Nishikori in two in his tournament opener last Friday, before doing likewise on Tuesday, taking advantage of his strong deliveries on first and second serves.
The Greek player won 76% of points on his first and 71% on seconds against his French opponent and converted four of seven break point opportunities in his round-three victory.
The triumph means he advances to a fourth last-16 match at a Masters 1000 event this year, a pleasing outcome for the Monte-Carlo defending champion, who refocused to put in a strong showing despite rain delays in the previous two days.
Having notched his 201st hard-court win in Tuesday's success, Tsitsipas aims to advance to the quarter-final in Shanghai at Medvedev's expense.
A 14th match-up with his Russian opponent may have been thwarted had the 2019 Shanghai champion not dug deep against Matteo Arnaldi in the third round after losing the first set.
However, Medvedev rallied to clinch a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 success against the Italian to continue his bid for a first title at this event in five years and a first this season.
The 28-year-old had problems serving against Arnaldi, underscored by six double faults on his deliveries and his opponent's breaking serve three times in the three-setter.
Regardless, the six-time Masters 1000 champion found solutions despite playing complications to advance to the fourth round and set up Wednesday's match with Tsitsipas.
Despite winning 20 Tour-level titles, the Russian has never clinched the same title twice, a reality he aims to change in Shanghai this year.
Tournament so far
Stefanos Tsitsipas:
First round: Bye
Second round: vs. Kei Nishikori 7-6[6] 6-4
Third round: vs. Alexandre Muller 6-3 7-5
Daniil Medvedev:
First round: Bye
Second round: vs. Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-5 7-5
Third round: vs. Matteo Arnaldi 5-7 6-4 6-4
Head To Head
Vienna (2023) - Semi-final: Medvedev 6-4 7-6(6)
Rome Masters (2023) - Semi-final: Medvedev 7-5 7-5
ATP Finals (2022) - Round robin: Tsitsipas 6-3 6-7 (11) 7-6(1)
Cincinnati Masters (2022) - Semi-final: Tsitsipas 7-6(6) 3-6 6-3
Australian Open (2022) - Semi-final: Medvedev 7-6(5) 4-6 6-4 6-1
Roland Garros (2021) - Quarter-final: Tsitsipas 6-3 7-6(3) 7-5
Australian Open (2021) - Semi-final: Medvedev 6-4 6-2 7-5
ATP Finals (2019) - Round robin: Tsitsipas 7-6(5) 6-4
Shanghai Masters (2019) - Semi-final: Medvedev 7-6(5) 7-5
Monte-Carlo Masters (2019) - Round of 16: Medvedev 6-2 1-6 6-4
Basel (2018) - Quarter-final: Medvedev 6-4 3-6 6-3
US Open (2018) - Second round: Medvedev 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-3
Miami Masters (2018) - First round: Medvedev 2-6 6-4 6-2
While Medvedev leads 9-4 in this rivalry, five of the Russian's victories came at the start of their rivalry on the ATP Tour.
Tsitsipas has since closed the gap, securing four triumphs in the next eight match-ups, although he heads into their 2019 Shanghai Masters rematch having lost the previous two.
Wednesday's encounter will be the sixth at an ATP 1000 event between the two, who have also battled in four Grand Slams and twice at the year-end ATP Finals, albeit in the round-robin.
We say: Medvedev to win in three sets
Although Tsitsipas heads into Wednesday keen to snap his two-match losing streak against Medvedev, the Russian is favoured to edge this last 16 battle in three, thus extending his lead to 10-4 in their rivalry.
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