Daniil Medvedev is two wins away from his first title since 2023 in Rome and one win away from just his second final of the season.
Arthur Rinderknech stands in the way of Medvedev’s achievements as they clash in the semi-finals of the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Saturday afternoon. Their only previous meeting came at the 2022 US Open, where Medvedev won 6-2, 7-5, 6-3.
The rematch proves to be much more competitive, in part because Rinderknech is playing the best tennis of his life at age 30. Currently world number 54, he will climb to a career-high ranking of 37th even if he loses on Saturday. Rinderknech is 11-3 in his last 14 matches dating back to the US Open and so far in Shanghai he has dismissed Hamad Medjedovic, Alex Michelsen, Alexander Zverev, Jiri Lehecka and Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Frenchman has won his last two matches in straight sets, including a 6-3, 6-4 defeat to a previously red-hot Auger-Aliassime on Friday.
Medvedev took a much more scenic route to the semi-finals. The 18th-ranked Russian needed two hours and 52 minutes to beat student Tien on Wednesday in a match in which he suffered cramps late in the second set. Medvedev managed to get past Alex de Minaur in straight sets on Friday, but even that match was a bit of a physical battle. The former world number 1 previously defeated Dalibor Svrcina and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to start his campaign in Shanghai.
While Medvedev is starting to show signs of his former self, Rinderknech is on fire and playing on a near-full tank. Furthermore, Medvedev – especially at this stage of the tournament – would prefer much faster conditions in an attempt to rack up points faster.
This is a great opportunity for Rinderknech.
Choice: Rinderknech in 3
#Shanghai #Preview #Picks #Prediction #Medvedev #Rinderknech