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Daniil Medvedev started off the new season in stunning fashion with four wins out of his five matches at the ATP Cup and was looking set for another run at a Slam.
He was, however, upset by the old warhorse Stan Wawrinka in the fourth round and the Russian will definitely be looking for redemption when he begins his campaign at the 2020 Rotterdam Open.
His opponent in the opening round though has been anything but a pushover in 2020 himself. Medvedev will have to be playing some top-level tennis if he wants to get over Canada's Vasek Pospisil on Wednesday.
Coming off of a recurring back injury, Pospisil began to find his footing on the court in the back half of 2019 and seems to have gotten back to playing some of his best tennis in recent weeks.
His serve and groundstrokes have retained their sting and his movement, especially up the court and while covering the net, has been better than ever.
And after months of under the radar performances, Pospisil finally made a statement run at the Open Sud de France last week, beating the likes of Denis Shapovalov and David Goffin en route to the summit clash.
But to play a top 5 player in the midst of ravaging form is a whole different ball-game. Medvedev has been in fine form and looked almost invincible during the American hardcourt season.
On the days that he is moving well and serving a good percentage, Medvedev gives very little chance for an opponent to find in-roads into the match.
The Canadian will have to be strong on his serve to avoid going down early in the match. If he can stay close with Medvedev on the scoreboard, the occasional opportunity will show itself. And if Pospisil is to win, he will have to pounce on every little one of those chances that show up through the course of the match.
Prediction: Medvedev to win in three sets or tiebreaker sets.
