The Russian took out Stefanos Tsitsipas and moved closer to locking up his seventh ATP Finals appearance.

Chris OddoOctober 14, 20262 minute read

Daniil Medvedev used aggressive tennis and sharp serving to dispatch a familiar foe on Wednesday, and in the process bolstered his chances of reaching the ATP Finals in Turin.

The 2019 Shanghai champion defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals, improving to 11-5 against the Greek and 17-5 lifetime in the Chinese megacity.

Medvedev cited the fast conditions on the stadium court and said that once he adjusted, he was able to make them work in his favor.

“In the warm-up, I was like, ‘Jesus Christ, it’s so fast,’ which is good for me, but I needed, you know, to reset because it’s a completely different court from what I played before,” he said. “But that helped me. I think I played really aggressive. I put a lot of pressure on him and managed to beat him.”

Medvedev hit eight aces and won 33 of 39 first-serve points in the match. He did not face a break point and solved the Tsitsipas serve once in each set.

Medvedev is the sixth man to reach four or more Shanghai quarterfinals, and he’ll face American Tommy Paul in the last eight. Paul got past Zizou Bergs, the man who upset Carlos Alcaraz, 7-6(5), 6-4 on Wednesday.

Medvedev’s victory also solidifies what is effectively seventh place in the Race to Turin standings. The Russian is closing in on a seventh ATP Finals appearance and now stands just 205 points behind Arthur Fils, who is currently sixth when taking into account Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal.