No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev overcomes Gael Monfils in first round of China Open

No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev defeated Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4 in a test of endurance during the first round of the China Open. Medvedev’s victory stemmed primarily from outlasting and forcing errors from his opponent in lengthy rallies that wore both players down throughout the match.

Monfils was his own worst enemy in the first set as he immediately double-faulted on 15-40 to have his serve broken in Game 1. Although he barely managed to win the next two games, drawn-out rallies and 11 deuces left both players fatigued. But whereas Monfils began to falter, Medvedev endured, his consistently powerful forehand forcing error after error from the Frenchman to take three straight games. Monfils double-faulted on game point to have his serve broken for a third time, concluding the first set with five double faults total.

Medvedev acknowledged the difficulty of staying energized during long rallies.

“It's not easy, because for sure you get very tired,” he said in a post-match press conference. “He got tired a bit more than I did.”

The 38-year-old Monfils was visibly exhausted heading into the second set, often putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath between points. He quickly lost the first three games, double faulting once again on game point, as Medvedev returned every ball without error and waited for Monfils to make mistakes of his own. Down 0-3 and on the verge of having his serve broken for a fourth time, Monfils nailed a desperate tweener to even the score at deuce and went on to successfully win the game. With the crowd on his side, a re-energized Monfils managed to hold his own against Medvedev and win two more consecutive games. But the errors wouldn’t stop for the Frenchman as Medvedev dominated a fourth and fifth game to leave Monfils down 4-5. In the final game, Monfils launched another ball out of bounds to hand Medvedev the match—Monfils’ fifth broken serve.

Despite his victory, Medvedev didn’t look at his best either, with six double faults and a 50% first serve percentage. Medvedev acknowledged that his serve is an area that needs improvement, but remains optimistic. “It's getting better and better,” he said.                

Medvedev is looking to fight his way back to the finals of the China Open after finishing runner-up to Jannik Sinner in 2023. He will face another Frenchman, Adrian Mannarino, in the second round, where he expects another slugfest.

“It's going to be also, against Adrian, a lot of long rallies I think,” Medvedev said. “I will need to be at my best.”

—Reporting by Jared Rubenstein