
Every match between Daniil Medvedev and Learner Tien becomes a gem within a circuit with too many similar profiles. Two players who swim against the current, away from the mold that dominates in recent times, and today, at ATP Shanghai 2025, put the seal on a trilogy where it is finally the Russian who comes out on top. He did it, as it could not be otherwise, after a back-and-forth battle, an unstoppable chaos in which, now yes, the Muscovite moved like a fish in the water (7-6(6), 6-7(1), 6-4).
We were warned: the matches between Daniil Medvedev and Learner Tien throughout 2025 had never been devoid of good tennis, excitement, charisma, drama, and plot twists. However, it was Learner who triumphed in Australia and Beijing, creating extra pressure that this new Medvedev, with Thomas Johansson as the head coach, wanted to avoid at all costs.
He achieved this from the get-go, showing us a recognizable version, similar to the one that decisively defeated Davidovich: increasingly aggressive on his service turns, varying his game more, relying on parallel shots, and finding drop shots. However, he faced a very tough opponent capable of counterattacking with more intelligence than many other names, pushing the Russian to also work the points, to find a kind of balance that, after more than an hour and a quarter of the set, put him ahead on the scoreboard.
And it seemed like everything was over: the typical adrenaline drop after such an exhausting battle, the higher-ranked player asserting his dominance, and the new version of Daniil, now, closing the door on his personal nemesis. With a 7-6 and 3-0 lead, however, flashbacks of the Beijing comeback arrived in a twist that exploded, that shattered. The American activated the wall mode and turned the set around amidst complaints and the desperation of a Daniil who took it out on his bench, with vehement complaints to Johansson, unabashedly pointing out that "he couldn't do anything" and that his opponent was "everywhere."
... (continues)This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El show del Loco Daniil está de vuelta... y con más ambición que nunca