Medvedev hoping to face Alcaraz again – in Beijing final

Daniil Medvedev is all square at two wins all in his head-to-head with Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev (Antoine Couvercelle/Panoramic)

September 27, 2023

Daniil Medvedev is hoping he’ll soon get the opportunity to edge ahead in his head-to-head against Carlos Alcaraz as they both prepare for Beijing.

Medvedev got past Alcaraz in their most recent meeting, the US Open semi-final, but the Spaniard won their two earlier encounters this year.

They are the two top seeds in this week’s tournament – so if they meet again, it’ll be in the final, and that suits the Russian perfectly.

“That’s a good goal, to try to make this happen,” Medvedev said in his pre-tournament press conference – but was quick to add that in a field with eight of the top ten, it would be a difficult challenge.

Medvedev: Winning tournaments is great for confidence

Medvedev himself faces world No 13 Tommy Paul in the first round and will play either world No 12 Alex de Minaur or former world No 1 Andy Murray in the second round.

“The tournament is super strong. So if you win it, it’s great. It’s a great memory. It’s great for the confidence. There are still some important tournaments to come, so the better you play the end of the season, the better you play the beginning of the next one.

“The motivation is to try to do all this, to continue proving to yourself that you can win these big tournaments, big titles, against big opponents.”