Preview: Alexei Popyrin vs. Daniil Medvedev – prediction, direct duel, previous tournament

Fresh off a first career win Matteo Berrettini in the Paris Masters first round, Alexei Popyrin aims to anger Daniil Medvedev in the second round game on Wednesday.

The Australian achieved a narrow victory in two sets and set up the fourth set ATP Tour Duel with the former champions in Paris.

Game preview

© Imago

Popyrin's mediocre form ahead of his tournament opener against Berrettini meant the Italian would triumph in the pair's third meeting at tour level.

However, the Canadian Masters champion secured a 7-5, 7-6(2) victory over the 28-year-old, moving him to 27-21 on the season after losing three of his last four matches on the tour .

He wants to continue that momentum against Medvedev, but he needs to play top tennis to get a first win against the Russian and improve his 0-3 record against the six-time Masters champion.

For this result, Popyrin will need to improve his break point conversion – he missed two of 13 chances against Berrettini – and be more adept at second balls, having had a 58% success rate in Tuesday's first round win.

© Imago

It remains to be seen which version of Medvedev takes to the pitch on Wednesday, considering the former Paris champion and former 2024 runner-up's mixed performance.

The Russian has struggled with his serve this year, committing eye-catching double faults and reckless abandon in several games this season. He goes into his first game at the ATP 1000 tournament with number 270.

The world No. 5, still hoping for his first title of the season, has made 61% of first serves while winning 73% of points, but has won 49% of second serve points ahead of his first game in the French tournament.

Despite these service mishaps, the 20-time titleholder has avoided opening defeats in his last three tournaments and will be hoping to extend that streak against Popyrin.

After putting early eliminations in Canada and Cincinnati behind him with a quarterfinal win in Shanghai, Medvedev is aiming for another strong win at the final Masters event of the year.

With participation in the ATP Finals confirmed, ending his trophy drought in Paris is high on his priority list.

tournament so far

Alexei Popyrin:

First round: against 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 the duel with Popyrin and wants to record his fourth win in a row against the Australian.

The 25-year-old has a mixed record against top 10 players, earning 10 wins in 15 games, including wins against Grigor Dimitrov, Hubert Hurkacz And Andrey Rublev during his successful Canadian Masters run before claiming an impressive four-set win Novak Djokovic at the US Open.

We say: Medvedev wins in three sets

While Medvedev may be a little rusty, having not played competitive tennis for a fortnight since his exit in Shanghai, we expect the Russian to pull out a victory despite Popyrin's motivation to win his 11th match against elite opponents.

ID:556781:1false2false3false:QQ:: from DB desktop :LenBod:collect5817:

Previews via email