Paris Masters 2020: Daniil Medvedev vs Alex de Minaur preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: (3) Daniil Medvedev vs (16) Alex de Minaur
Date: 5 November 2020
Tournament: Rolex Paris Masters 2020
Round: Third round (Round of 16)
Venue: Paris, France
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Indoor Hardcourt
Prize money: €3,901,015
Match timing: Approx. 1 pm local time, 5.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - ESPN / Tennis Channel | India - Sony Six / Sony Liv
Daniil Medvedev vs Alex de Minaur preview
Third seed Daniil Medvedev faces off against Alex de Minaur in the third round of the Paris Masters on Thursday.
Following his breakthrough in 2019 that saw him reach the final of the US Open, Medvedev has had a rather torrid time in 2020. The Russian has failed to reach a single final this year and made it to just two semifinals, qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals purely on the merit of the frozen ranking system during COVID-19.
Barring a US Open semifinal, the 24-year-old's recent results have been distinctly underwhelming. He lost to Kevin Anderson in the quarterfinal at Vienna and to Reilly Opelka in the second round of the St. Petersburg Open, after first-round exits at the Hamburg European Open and the French Open.
Medvedev received a bye in the first round at Paris, and then won his second-round encounter against Kevin Anderson due to a retirement from the South African.
Meanwhile Australia's No. 1 male tennis player Alex de Minaur has been in decent form all year. After a few head-turning wins at the ATP Cup, the 21-year-old reached the quarterfinals of the US Open.
De Minaur also made a strong run at the recent Antwerp Open, losing to Ugo Humbert in the final.
The Australian has reached the third round of the Paris Masters without dropping a single set. He got past Stefano Travaglia and the in-from Lorenzo Sonego with ease, and would be hoping to continue in the same vein against Medvedev.
Daniil Medvedev vs Alex de Minaur head-to-head
The meeting in Paris will be the third between the two players on tour. Daniil Medvedev leads the head-to-head 2-0 over Alex de Minaur, with both of his wins coming in 2018 - at Winston-Salem and Sydney.
Daniil Medvedev vs Alex de Minaur prediction
Daniil Medvedev may be the higher ranked player with a superior overall record, but Alex de Minaur is undoubtedly the more in-form player out of the two.
Medvedev has a formidable serve and return, and can hit some flat, clean groundstrokes with consistency. De Minaur, on the other hand, has incorporated variations to his ultra-defensive style this year, looking to take control of rallies early in his recent matches.
The Aussie would be wary of Medvedev's serve, but his movement and return of serve are formidable weapons of their own. De Minaur's variations, coupled with his form, could cause more than a few problems for the out-of-sorts Medvedev on Thursday.
Prediction: Alex de Minaur to win in three sets.