Daniil Sergeyevich Medvedev has won his second-round match at the Shanghai Masters against Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. The fifth seed found himself under early pressure but raised his level significantly to turn the contest around on hardcourt. For Medvedev, the victory carries added importance in the race to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin.
Struff made the stronger start
Jan-Lennard Struff came into the match in Shanghai unseeded, but brimming with confidence after his opening-round win over Martin Landaluce. Against Medvedev, the German played boldly from the outset, consistently looking to impose himself from the baseline. He kept rallies at a high tempo and put the Russian under pressure on multiple occasions.
Medvedev initially struggled to find his usual composure. Struff made the most of his opportunities and closed out the opening set 6-4, temporarily reinforcing his solid record against Medvedev on grass — a surface on which he had beaten the Russian at Wimbledon over the summer. On hardcourt, however, the pre-match picture had looked considerably less favourable for the German.
Medvedev turned up the heat
After dropping the set, Daniil Sergeyevich Medvedev adjusted his return game. He positioned himself more aggressively on Jan-Lennard Struff's serve, forcing the German into longer exchanges, while also becoming more reliable on his own serve. Medvedev gave Struff fewer openings for direct attacks and increasingly dictated rallies from the baseline.
The match statistics reflected this shift. Medvedev fired 21 aces and won 88 percent of points on his first serve. Struff converted 84 percent of his first-serve points, but was unable to consistently translate that advantage into pressure on his opponent as the match wore on.
Medvedev took the second set 6-4, winning the key points with greater conviction and forcing Struff to play more often from difficult positions. With the match level, the momentum had swung decisively in the Russian's favour.
The favourite completed the comeback
Medvedev remained the dominant force in the third set. Struff fought for every point, but could no longer cope with the relentless pressure. Medvedev used his physical reach, varied the depth of his shots and kept the German pinned well behind the baseline. The third set went to Medvedev 6-3.
The overall match statistics underlined the turnaround. Medvedev won 55 percent of total points and held serve in 87 percent of his service games. He also produced just 18 unforced errors compared to Struff's 30 — a telling difference that illustrated just how firmly Medvedev had taken control of rallies after the opening set.
It was Medvedev's eleventh win in the head-to-head against Struff, extending a series lead that stood at 10-3 heading into the match. The Shanghai victory also continued a hardcourt streak against the German, following Medvedev's win over Struff in Beijing just a week earlier. Despite the defeat, Struff remained a dangerous opponent throughout, but Medvedev found the right answers after his slow start and thoroughly deserved his place in the next round.
