By Richard Pagliaro Friday, October 10, 2025
Image source: Hangzhou Open
Daniil Medvedev Declarations of desire are punctuated with emphatic exclamation points.
Medvedev hit an Ace and finally defeated his opponent 6-4, 6-4 Alex de Minaur He advanced to the ATP Masters 1000 semi-finals for the 16th time at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.
This is the 50th time Medvedev has won the top ten in his career and the 50th hard court semifinal.
The owner of 20 titles in 20 different tournaments continued his quest to win the same tournament twice for the first time.
Medvedev, ranked 18th in the world, will face a surprise semi-finalist Arthur Lindeknech Compete for a spot in the finals.
Earlier, Lindknecht did not lose serve in an upset victory over the US Open semifinalist 6-3, 6-4. Felix Auger-Aliassime Together with his cousin Valentin Vacherot, he made his debut in the semi-finals of the ATP Masters 1000.
It’s been a wild ride for Medvedev, who has dealt with cramps and some marathon sessions, but the former U.S. Open champion was efficient against ATP hard-court champion De Minaur.
Medvedev saved all 6 break points he faced today and won 15 of 16 first serve points in the second set.
Former world No. 1 Medvedev scored eight of nine points to open the scoring at Love to take a 3-2 lead.
Medvedev was forced into a double break point, and he responded with two full-force backhand volley winners from the baseline – arguably his best volleys of the tournament – to hold on for 4-2.
The lanky Russian saved two more break points in the eighth game before stinging De Minaur with a brilliant backhand pass on the run to make it 5-3.
Serving for the match, Medvedev faced a break point for the third consecutive game and erased it with a service winner on the tee.
As tensions mounted, Medvedev double-faulted twice to score away from home.
On his third set point, Medvedev surged forward and swiped a forehand winner to end eight minutes of play and take the first set after an hour of play.
The 2019 champion saved all five break points he faced in the set.
De Minaur, ranked seventh in the world, escaped two break points and started the second set with a tenacious hold.
In the 87th minute of the game, De Minaur hit the first Ace of the game, rewriting the score to 3-2.
Conjuring up creative counterattacks on the run helped Medvedev break serve in the ninth game.
De Minaur hit a bouncing smash and hit his first double fault while falling into a double break point hole. Medvedev, who had been on the defensive throughout the match, trailing far behind the baseline, hit consecutive backhands behind the baseline for a wonderful break and a 5-4 lead in the second set.
50 ATP hard court semi-finals🤩
Daniil Medvedev reaches this important career milestone with a 6-4 6-4 win over Alex de Minaur 🤝#rolexshanghaimasters pic.twitter.com/DOnlyAAUw3
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 10, 2025
The 29-year-old Medvedev fired his fifth ace in one hour and 53 minutes to earn a hard-earned victory.
