Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the China Open match.
In the first round of the ATP 500 tournament in the Chinese capital, veteran Gael Monfils (46) will face one of the top players in the world, Daniil Medvedev (5).
Gael Monfils
The 38-year-old Frenchman continues to display quite an outstanding game. His last tournament was the US Open, where he reached only the second round, as he faced the eighth seed Casper Ruud at this stage. Monfils confidently took the third set and had a chance to win the fourth but lost a crucial point in a 19-shot rally during the tiebreak with the score at 0:2. The final result was 4:6, 2:6, 6:2, 6:7 (3:7). Age doesn't seem to hinder the Frenchman's activity, as he’s playing more matches this season than he had since 2019. In Beijing, Monfils has played twice but was eliminated in the first round on both occasions.
Daniil Medvedev
After the US Open, where the Russian was stopped in the quarterfinals by the eventual winner Jannik Sinner in four sets, Medvedev participated in the Laver Cup in Berlin from 20 to 22 September. Team Europe, captained by Bjorn Borg, won 13-11, but Medvedev didn't contribute any points, losing both of his matches despite leading after the first set against Americans Frances Tiafoe (6:3, 4:6, 5:10) and Ben Shelton (7:6 (8:6), 5:7, 7:10). Last year, Daniil Medvedev reached the final in Beijing but lost to Jannik Sinner in two tiebreaks.
Gael Monfils vs Daniil Medvedev
Gael Monfils is dangerous even at his age. His last victory over a top-10 player was quite recent, in Cincinnati this year against Carlos Alcaraz (4:6, 7:6 (7:5), 6:4). His last encounter with Medvedev ended in a win for the Russian in Monte Carlo 2024 (6:2, 6:4). The setbacks at the Laver Cup showed that Daniil's physical form might be slightly affected, so instead of predicting a winner, we'll opt for a long match.