ATP Tour

Medvedev wins in Hangzhou: 'My level was pretty good'

Will former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev win his third title of the season this week?

The 30-year-old made a good start Saturday at the AITO Hangzhou Open, where he defeated 2025 finalist Valentin Royer 7-6(6), 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.

“Valentin is a very tough player. He played [in the] final here last year, so I knew it’s not an easy first round,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “I managed to serve very well in the important moments, really happy with that. And I think my level was pretty good.”

The top seed hit 16 aces and dominated behind his first serve, winning 84 per cent of those points according to Infosys ATP Stats. Medvedev saved all five break points he faced to advance in one hour and 49 minutes.

“I knew I needed to try to play aggressive as well. It’s a fast court, so a lot of rallies finished fast,” Medvedev said. “And I feel like we both did pretty well in this aggressive game and I managed just to win a couple more points in the important moments.”

Medvedev will next take on Coleman Wong, a 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-3 winner against fifth seed Adolfo Daniel Vallejo.

Earlier in the day, Buyunchaokete and Roman Safiullin battled through three-set clashes to set a quarter-final encounter against one another.

China's Buyunchaokete ousted eighth seed Kamil Machrzak 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 6-2. The 24-year-old began the week with one tour-level win this season and now has earned two this tournament alone.

Safiullin rallied past fourth seed Quentin Halys 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. The No. 102 player in the PIF ATP Rankings claimed the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting in two hours and 17 minutes.