Medvedev overcomes physical demons in Shanghai survival
Daniil Medvedev turned a cramp-riddled nightmare into triumph against Learner Tien, securing his first win over the young American in a tense three-setter that tested body and mind under the Shanghai lights.
Under the humid glow of Wednesday night at the Shanghai Masters, Daniil Medvedev battled through a grueling encounter with Learner Tien, the 19-year-old American whose intuitive play has haunted him before. Eight days after cramps sidelined him in Beijing’s semifinal against the same opponent, the 29-year-old former world No. 1 pushed past leg twinges to claim a 7-6(6), 6-7(1), 6-4 victory, his first in three meetings. This engrossing ATP Masters 1000 clash, lasting two hours and 53 minutes, propelled him into a third quarterfinal of the season alongside Indian Wells and Madrid, a crucial boost amid a year of inconsistent results.
Haunted by recent hardcourt scars
The Qizhong Forest Sports City court carried echoes of unfinished business as Medvedev took the court, his body still marked by Beijing’s betrayal where cramps ended his run just short of victory. Tien, ranked in the 30s without a dominant serve, mirrored the Russian’s vulnerabilities—youthful endurance against seasoned resolve under duress. Medvedev started strong, probing with deep returns and one–two combinations, but Tien’s court sense disrupted the rhythm, forcing prolonged crosscourt exchanges that sapped energy on the DecoTurf surface.
In the first set, he failed to serve out at 5-4 yet steadied in the tiebreak, firing a down-the-line backhand to convert on his sixth set point amid rising crowd murmurs. The atmosphere thickened as the second set saw Medvedev carve a 3-0 lead, only for Tien to roar back with precise passing shots, exposing the toll of back-to-back tournaments. As cramps gripped his right leg late in that frame, nearly immobilizing him during the tiebreak, the humid air pulsed with tension, the former champion’s frustrated mutters cutting through the supportive roars.
“I think the toughest part was that we played two times [before], and in my opinion he is an unbelievable player, because he doesn’t have a great serve and serve is so important in tennis,“ said Medvedev. ”Without the serve, he is 19 years old and 30-something in the world and only going up. In my opinion he is such a good tennis player.
“He feels the game so well. There are so many guys right now that just hit strong with every ball they have, and they have an amazing serve which allows them to stay in the tennis match. He doesn’t have it, and he manages to play so good without it. For me to beat him… I thought I was going to lose. I was cramping again and I’m just super happy to manage to do it.”
Meddy’s Moment! @DaniilMedwed outlasts Tien (7-6 6-7 6-4) in an EPIC encounter to advance into the Shanghai quarter-finals@SH_Masters | #ShanghaiMasterspic.twitter.com/Ah3jbLrNUs
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 8, 2025
Tactical shifts ignite decider fire
Loosened after the changeover, Medvedev reemerged with sharper focus, varying his serve with wide slices to the deuce side and body jabs to disrupt Tien’s returns on the grippy hardcourt. He absorbed the American’s underspin slices with heavy topspin counters, setting up inside-out forehands that pinned his foe deep and opened angles for winners. The crowd’s energy swelled as these adjustments turned defense into offense, the Russian’s movement regaining fluidity despite lingering twinges.
The decider’s ninth game became the pivot, where a 13-shot rally ended with a crosscourt backhand forcing an error, securing the break at 5-4. Serving out under pressure, Medvedev held firm through a late wobble, the final point sealing an epic that exorcised ghosts from their prior dramas—a late-night Australian Open five-setter claimed by Tien, and Beijing’s physical collapse. This 2019 Shanghai champion’s resilience shone, blending baseline robustness with mental steel to finally topple his nemesis.
Quarterfinal test fuels rankings chase
Advancing to face seventh seed Alex de Minaur, who earlier ousted Nuno Borges 7-5, 6-2, Medvedev eyes another hardcourt speedster suited to the surface’s pace. De Minaur’s flat-hitting could exploit low bounces, but the Russian’s evolved patterns—selective aggression amid endurance—promise a tactical duel in the ATP’s upper ranks. As @DaniilMedwed and the @SH_Masters feeds captured the #ShanghaiMasters buzz from October 8, 2025, including the pic.twitter.com/Ah3jbLrNUs highlights, this win positions him to climb, one breakthrough at a time on these unforgiving Asian courts.
