Tommy Paul and Daniil Medvedev will renew their rivalry when they go head-to-head in the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Masters.
Medvedev beat Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the quarterfinals, having previously knocked out Jan-Lennard Struff and Dalibor Svrcina. And Paul is into the latter stages of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament after beating Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, defending champion Valentin Vacherot, and Zizou Bergs, who knocked out Carlos Alcaraz.
Paul has now previewed his Shanghai Masters quarterfinal against his Russian rival, who has won four of their five career meetings. The American ace will now be desperate to halt that dominance in China, where he expects a tough encounter.
Tommy Paul shares plan vs Daniil Medvedev in Shanghai
Paul spoke to the media after beating Bergs, where he was told that Medvedev has won all three of their hard-court matches. When asked if he’s looking to change the patterns of the past, he said: “Hopefully, yeah. I think, with Medvedev, we’ve had some good matches and some bad matches. I think he’s a guy that you have to come in with a game plan, and it has to be a good game plan, because he’s not going to miss many balls, and he’s going to make you earn every single point. I’m going to have to come with the mindset to be out there all day, and also really execute my game plan.”
| Year | Winner | Tournament | Round | Surface | Score |
| 2025 | Medvedev | ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells | Round of 16 | Outdoor Hard | 64 60 |
| 2024 | Paul | ATP Masters 1000 Rome | Round of 16 | Outdoor Clay | 61 64 |
| 2024 | Medvedev | ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells | Semifinal | Outdoor Hard | 16 76(3) 62 |
| 2023 | Medvedev | Beijing | Round of 32 | Outdoor Hard | 62 61 |
| 2021 | Medvedev | Roland Garros | Round of 64 | Outdoor Clay | 36 61 64 63 |
Paul will be eager to recover ahead of the match after a battle against Bergs, who he edged past 7-6(7-5), 6-4 after almost two hours. Sharing what went through his mind during the 5-All game in the first set, he said: “I just kept telling myself, if I get broken, I’m going to break back. You’ve got to be confident in yourself, and especially in those situations. I mean, when you feel like you can convince yourself that it’s not a big deal, the pressure’s not as big.”
It was a gutsy performance, with Paul having entered the match well aware that Bergs had beaten Alcaraz in a stunning display in the previous round. The American is the 15th seed in Shanghai, with fifth seed Medvedev now up next, followed by a possible semifinal against Rafael Jodar or Casper Ruud. In the top half of the draw, top seed Alexander Zverev takes on Alex de Minaur, while Arthur Gea meets Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.