Learn What Medvedev ‘Could Never Dream Of’

Daniil Medvedev became just the fifth active player to reach six straight tour-level championship matches on Saturday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters with his straight-sets win against Stefanos Tsitsipas.

But following his match, the Russian was surprised to learn that he still has a ways to go to catch two of those men: Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. While Andy Murray (7) and Rafael Nadal’s (9) personal-best finals streaks are not that far off, the Western & Southern Open champion will need to reach another 11 consecutive finals to match the record tallies of this year’s Wimbledon finalists.

“They have 17 in a row? Wow. That’s far ahead,” said Medvedev. “I do think it’s impossible, but there are two guys who have done it, which I actually didn’t know. It is just unbelievable. I don’t have any words to describe this.”

Medvedev’s achievements over the past three months have catapulted the Russian to a career-high No. 4 in the ATP Rankings. The 23-year-old has compiled a 28-3 record since returning to hard-court action at the Citi Open in July, with his only losses in that period coming in finals. Alongside trophies in Cincinnati and St. Petersburg, Medvedev finished as runner-up in Washington, D.C. (l. to Kyrgios), Montreal (l. to Nadal) and at the US Open (l. to Nadal).

“For myself, making six [finals] in a row — including three ATP Masters 1000’s and one Grand Slam — is something I could never dream of, to be honest,” said Medvedev. “But I want to keep the momentum going and hope I can make it to seven or eight. Let’s see about 17 later.”

Medvedev’s consistent results at the biggest events in recent months have made him one of the hottest players on the ATP Tour. If Medvedev were to claim his second Masters 1000 trophy on Sunday, he would overtake third-placed Roger Federer in the ATP Race To London.

“I have to say it’s a compliment [for people] to say [I will be the next big name after Novak, Rafa and Roger], and I’m happy about it because [it is] my results that make people talk in this way,” said Medvedev. “After, the most important is going to be continuing these results, this game that I’m showing, because the moment I drop, people forget good things quite fast. So I know that, and I want to work and improve every day.”

With a win in Sunday’s final, Medvedev would join Zverev as only the second non-Big Four member to win multiple Masters 1000 trophies in a single season since David Nalbandian in 2007. But first, he will need to overcome the German for the first time in five FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings.

However, the Russian has come a long way since facing Zverev most recently at last year’s Roger’s Cup. On that occasion, Medvedev was contesting only his second Masters 1000 third-round match while occupying the No. 68 position in the ATP Rankings.

Medvedev is aware that he will need to break new ground to get his hands on the Shanghai trophy, but that challenge is something the World No. 4 has become rather accustomed to in recent months.