Daniil Medvedev has said that he is hoping to face
Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the
China Open in Beijing, although he admits it will be a challenge to get that far in a draw packed with talented players.
World No. 3 Medvedev leveled his head-to-head with Alcaraz at 2-2 in the semi-final of the US Open earlier this month after pulling off a shock victory against the defending champion 7-6 (3), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. The 27-year-old then went on to face Novak Djokovic in the final of the New York major, where he lost in straight sets.
The Russian is now hoping to get the better of the Spaniard once more in a clash at the ATP 500 tournament this week. However, as the top two seeds, they are on separate sides of the draw. This means that they will both have to get past some tough opponents if they want to meet in the final.
Medvedev admits the draw is tough
Medvedev was asked in his pre-tournament press conference about a potential meeting with Alcaraz. While he said it was definitely a goal, he recognized the difficulty of the draw, with eight Top 10 and several Top 20-ranked players preparing to compete at the event.
"That’s a good goal, to try to make this happen," he said, "It’s tough. It’s like an ATP Masters 1000 here or a Grand Slam. In a way it’s even stronger than a Grand Slam, where you don’t have first rounds, where you maybe can get into the tournament, which sometimes can be the case in a Grand Slam…
"I think we’re going to see a lot of different results where the seeded players can lose and stuff like this because first rounds are never easy."
Medvedev's draw at the China Open
The second seed will jump right in at the deep end with a clash against World No. 13 Tommy Paul in the opening round. If he gets past this, he will take on either Andy Murray or World No. 12 Alex de Minaur 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," he continued.
