Beijing
Medvedev upsets Zverev in Beijing to reach milestone, ‘but I always want more’
Former World No. 1 to face Tien in semi-finals
September 29, 2025
Fred Lee/Getty Images
Daniil Medvedev improves to 14-7 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Alexander Zverev.
By ATP Staff
Could this be the tournament at which Daniil Medvedev returns to form?
The former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings earned a resounding 6-3, 6-3 victory Monday evening against World No. 3 Alexander Zverev to reach the semi-finals of the China Open.
The 29-year-old is into the 60th tour-level semi-final of his career and his first since June in Halle. He will take on #NextGenATP American Learner Tien, who upset him at this year’s Australian Open, for a place in the final.
“It’s great, but I always want more,” Medvedev said of the milestone he reached. “In the beginning of your career, numbers are important. When you achieve a lot, it’s more about just doing your best, and I haven’t been doing my best since some time, so I’m happy to be back in semis playing great, beating great opponents.”
According to Infosys ATP Stats, Medvedev saved all four break points he faced and won 86 per cent of his first-serve points to avoid facing too much pressure against the second-seeded Zverev.
“I played great, I was controlling the game pretty well. I felt like I had all the chances,” Medvedev said. “He had only, I think, one game on my serve where he put a lot of pressure on me and luckily I made a great game to save it. And other than that, I think I put a lot of pressure on him, played great and I’m happy to win.”
Entering the match, Medvedev was just 1-2 against Top-10 opponents this season, with his lone victory coming against Zverev in Halle. He now has won five consecutive matches against Zverev and leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 14-7.
This was Medvedev’s first Top-5 triumph on hard courts since beating Andrey Rublev at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals. The No. 18 player in the PIF ATP Live Rankings had been 0-10 since.
“I definitely played as I wanted to today, not missing much, aggressive when I need to, defensive when I need to, running great,” Medvedev said. “So definitely improving and looking forward to try to improve even more.”
