Daniil Medvedev: "Carlos Alcaraz is, at the moment, the player Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were before"

Daniil Medvedev has hailed Carlos Alcaraz as one of the biggest contenders for titles on the ATP tour at the moment, equating him to the likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

On Sunday, October 8, second seed Medvedev made an early exit from the Shanghai Masters after losing 7-6(8), 6-2 against Sebastian Korda. The World No. 3 was the defending champion having won the title in 2019 and then the tournament did not take place for three years.

Medvedev didn't make the most of three set points in the first set, during which he served three double faults to give the American the lead. Later, in the second set, Korda broke in the second game and built on it to seal victory in one hour and 28 minutes.

At a press conference after the match, Medvedev was asked for his thoughts on who would be the favorite to win the Shanghai Masters title this year. In reply, the Russian said that Alcaraz always remains one of the favorites for any title on the ATP tour.

"Tough to say. I would say, in general, if we talk like about shape right now, Carlos is just, at the moment, he's, let's say, the player like Novak, Rafa were before. Every time he's in the tournament he's the biggest, or when Novak is there, one of the two biggest contenders for the title," he said.

The 27-year-old also named Italian Jannik Sinner as a player who can go the distance in Shanghai.

"Jannik is in great shape, let's see how physically he can adapt to also playing Beijing last week. So I would say they are the two biggest favorites," he said.

"But at the same time, that's why we like tennis. Maybe Jannik loses today, Carlos loses tomorrow, and it's all over. But, yeah, so, let's see. That's why tennis is interesting, we can never know," he added.

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Carlos Alcaraz makes Shanghai Masters debut with win against Gregoire Barrere, to face Daniel Evans in 3R

Carlos Alcaraz in action at the 2023 China Open.

Carlos Alcaraz made his Shanghai Masters debut on Saturday, October 7, with a second-round clash against Gregoire Barrere. The top seed registered a pretty straightforward 6-2, 7-5 against the Frenchman in one hour and 42 minutes.

Alcaraz, who now has a 62-8 win-loss record in 2023, saved six of seven break points he faced and improved his record to 15-0 in the opening matches across tournaments this season.

The World No. 2 will next face Dan Evans, who got a walkover from Mikhail Kukushkin when he was leading 6-2, 3-0 in his second-round match.