Dominant serving display carries Medvedev past Shang in Doha

Daniil Medvedev secured his spot in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open last 16 by defeating Juncheng Shang 6-4, 6-2 on Monday evening behind a high-efficiency performance on serve.

The 30-year-old Russian, currently ranked world No 11 and seeded fourth, arrived at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex needing to reverse a worrying trend. Medvedev had entered the tournament following two consecutive defeats against left-handed opponents, having lost to American teenager Learner Tien in the Australian Open fourth round and Ugo Humbert in Rotterdam.

Facing another lefty in the 21-year-old Shang, the 2023 Doha champion relied on his delivery to regain control of his season.

35% of unreturned serves

The statistical dominance of Medvedev’s serve left little room for his opponent to maneuver. The former world No 1 landed 79% of his first serves and won 79% of those points throughout the 74-minute contest. He was equally effective when forced to go to his second delivery, winning 64% of those points and preventing Shang from generating a single break point opportunity.

Medvedev’s combination of precision and pace resulted in 35% of his serves going unreturned, effectively neutralizing the world No 259’s defensive game.

This victory marks a successful return to the hard courts of Doha for Medvedev, who started the year strong with a title in . In the next round, the Russian will face the winner of the opening-round match between Tunisian wild card Moez Echargui and the tournament’s second seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.

2026 Qatar ExxonMobil Open (Doha), 1st round

C. Alcaraz (1) – A. Rinderknech: to be played
V. Royer – P. Herbert (Q): 6-0, 6-3
M. Fucsovics – H. Habib (WC): to be played
K. Khachanov (7) – S. Mochizuki (LL): to be played
D. Medvedev (4) – J. Shang (PR): 6-4, 6-2
S. Tsitsipas – M. Echargui (WC): to be played
U. Humbert – F. Marozsan: to be played
A. Rublev (5) – J. de Jong: to be played
J. Lehecka (8) – J. Brooksby: to be played
Z. Bergs – G. Mpetshi Perricard: to be played
A. Fils – K. Majchrzak: 6-7[5], 6-3, 6-4
R. Carreno Busta (Q) – G. Halys (LL): to be played
J. Mensik (6) – J. Choinski (Q): 6-7[6], 6-2, 6-4
Z. Zhang (PR) – R. Carballes Baena (Q): to be played
A. Popyrin – M. Zayid (WC): 6-0, 6-2
J. Sinner (2) – T. Machac: 6-1, 6-4

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