2nd seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev will be making his first appearance since that startling US Open meltdown. Medvedev psychologically capitulated in his US Open first-round tie with Benjamin Bonzi, going into a full-on tantrum after a photographer disrupted proceedings.
2025 ATP Tour
ATP 250
Hangzhou Open/ Chengdu Open
Selected Round of 16 Matches- 19th September
Hangzhou Open
Daniil Medvedev (2) 0.43 vs Nishesh Basavareddy 1.75
He encouraged the crowd to disrupt the match, confronted the umpire and violently broke a racquet. The result meant he only one Grand Slam match in what has been a disastrous campaign. He had a few encouraging results towards the beginning of the season, reaching semifinals in Marseille and Indian Wells (he reached his only final of the year in Halle). He uncharacteristically lost the plot during the North American hardcourt swing and brought a three-match losing streak into this event. Medvedev- who tends to grind down opponents with his resilient baseline game- is struggling to find quick solutions. He needs a pick-me-up as he seeks to get out of his existential funk.
Next up for Medvedev is up-and-coming American prospect Nishesh Basavareddy. The 20-year-old was plucked out the American collegiate system after enjoying a successful stint at Stanford University. He enjoyed solid success on last year’s Challenger Tour and recorded his first ATP win at the season-ending NextGen Finals. He decided to turn pro after that, foregoing his NCAA eligibility. He has enjoyed fleeting moments of success this year, reaching a maiden ATP Tour semifinal in Auckland while making his Masters 1000 and Major debuts. He has done it the hard way this week, coming through qualifying before an impressive comeback victory over defending champ Marin Cilic. He was tidy against Cilic, hitting 16 winners to 13 unforced errors (this while committing seven double faults). While not the most powerful in the world, Basavareddy is quite dynamic from the baseline and isn’t afraid to move forward to finish off points.
The Verdict: Basavareddy to win in three at 5.2– This will be their first career meeting. This is the perfect time to play Medvedev. The Russian is struggling for form and lacking decisiveness. Basavereddy’s aggressive style and tendnacy to come to the next could exploit his muddled gameplay.
Chengdu Open
Giovanni Mpethsi Perricard (6) 0.49 vs Alexander Shevchenko 1.55
French servebot Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard hasn’t been able to replicate the form that saw him break through on last year’s tour. The Frenchman was a breath of fresh air last year, using his monstrous serve to win titles in Lyon and Basel (to go with a 4th round run at Wimbledon). He has been found out this year, with players realizing that he has one of the flimsiest backhands on the entire tour. He won only one Grand Slam match this year while failing to go beyond the 3rd round of a Masters event. He went into the Winston-Salem Open with little fanfare, losing six of his last seven games. But he produced a memorable week, reaching his 2nd semifinal of the season (his first coming at the season-opening Brisbane International). He took a set off Musetti at Flushing Meadows but was made to work in his Hangzhou opener, coming back from a set down against Filip Misolic.
Kazakh baseliner Alexander Shevchenko has really struggled this season, bringing a dreadful 6-14 tour-level record into this event. He has enjoyed some fleeting moments of success on the lower rung, reaching the semifinals of the Slovak Open while finishing runner-up at the recent Sumter Challenger. A solid all-court operator, Shevchenko has just battled with consistency all year. But he arguably produced his best performance of the season in his Hangzhou opener, taking Monfils to a decider before the Frenchman had to retire. Shevchenko played high-quality tennis throughout, hitting 28 winners to 13 unforced errors against the evergreen Frenchman. Sure, Monfils was physically ailing and that must be considered. But the former Moselle Open finalist played accurate, aggressive tennis and will be feeling confident going into this one.
The Verdict: Mpethsi Perricard to win in straight sets at 1.32– This will be their first career meeting. Mpethsi Perricard showed real tenacity to come back against Milosic. He never dominated on serve like he has in the past, only firing nine aces over three sets (slow going for him). But he was a surprising threat on return, winning an impressive 53% of his 2nd serve return points. Shevchenko has looked wobbly on delivery all season and the Frenchman should be able to exploit this.
