Daniil Medvedev’s Title Defense Under Threat as Nick Kyrgios Stands in his way at the US Open

Daniil Medvedev’s Title Defense Under Threat as Nick Kyrgios Stands in his way at the US Open

Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev is the world number 1 and top seed and will be playing at US Open 2022 after playing at Cincinnati Open last week. He would be hoping to defend the title after he won his 1st grand slam in the US Open last year by denying Novak Djokovic a rare feat of calendar slam. The defending champion won the match with the score line of 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

The Russian made a comeback to the tour at the Los Cabos Open as he was banned by Wimbledon due to his nationality. In the comeback tournament, Medvedev had defeated the in form Brit, Cameron Norrie in straight sets to win the title. The score line of the match was 7-6, 6-0. He was taken down by Australian, Nick Kyrgios in the Canadian Open in a 3 set encounter. The score line of the match was 6-7, 6-4, 6-2

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Medvedev has been able to perform really well in the hard courts as compared to clay and grass surfaces. In the Australian Open 2022, Medvedev lost to 21 time grand slam champion, Rafael Nadal in a 5 set thriller. The match went to the distance with the score line being 2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. With clay not being his favorable surface, Medvedev crashed out in the 4th round after losing to former US Open Champion, Marin Cilic in straight sets. The score line of the match was 6-2, 6-3,6-2.

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The shots Medvedev makes from behind the baseline is his main strength as it strengthens the defensive game. It will be interesting to see how he performs in the US Open 2022.

Tough Road Ahead For Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev is the top seed in the US Open 2022 and has a tricky road ahead of himself. He will play the American, Stefan Kozlov in the first round. In the second round, the Russian is most likely to clash with world number 58, Arthur Rinderknech.

In the 3rd round, Daniil is most likely to set up a clash with the world number 35, Nikoloz Basilashvili or American, Ben Shelton. In the 4th round, the Russian is likely to clash with the Wimbledon 2022 runner up, Nick Kyrgios. This is expected to be a thrilling encounter.

If Medvedev manages to cross the above hurdles, then he is most likely to play against Canadian, Felix Auger Aliassime or Olympic silver medalist, Karen Khachenov or in form Spaniard, Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarter finals of the tournament . The potential semi final fixture for Medvedev would be against world number 5, Stefanos Tsitsipas or world number 7, Casper Ruud or in form American, Taylor Fritz. If everything goes on course for the 26 year old, he can meet either 21 time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal or young Spaniard, Carlos Alcaraz or rising Italian, Jannik Sinner.

Medvedev’s path to US Open title:

  • 1R: Stefan Kozlov
  • 2R: Arthur Rinderknech
  • 3R: Nikoloz Basilashvili/Ben Shelton
  • 4R: Nick Kyrgios
  • QF: Felix Auger Aliassime/Karen Khachenov/Pablo Carreno Busta
  • SF: Stefanos Tsitsipas/Casper Ruud/Taylor Fritz
  • F: Rafael Nadal/ Carlos Alcaraz/ Jannik Sinner

Also Read: REVEALED! Carlos Alcaraz’s Path to Claim his First US Open title