Sports · Tennis · 6 hrs ago
Medvedev defends Almaty title while chasing ATP Finals place
Daniil Medvedev is defending his title in Almaty, Kazakhstan, after travelling there from the Shanghai Masters.
The world No.
5 is sixth in the race for the ATP Finals in Turin and has not yet qualified for the season-ending event.
He said a few days at home would not help, and skipping Almaty would have meant skipping Vienna too.
Medvedev has won three titles this season and had a strong run in China, including a title in Hangzhou and a semifinal in Beijing.
He is tired but chose to play, saying he likes the tournament and has commitments there.
His title defence opens against Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro, ranked No.
109.
Daniil Medvedev is defending his Almaty title while trying to secure a place at the ATP Finals in Turin.
The world No. 5 is sixth in the Race to Turin and has not yet qualified for the season finale.
He arrived in Kazakhstan tired after playing at the Shanghai Masters, but said a short break would not help him at this stage of the season.
Medvedev won the Almaty title last year and is set to open his defense against Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro.
He said he returned to Almaty for the tournament and its appeal for his family, as well as his commitments to the event.
- Who
- Daniil Medvedev, the defending Almaty champion, and his first-round opponent, Sho Shimabukuro.
- What
- Medvedev is defending his title while seeking to qualify for the ATP Finals.
- When
- The article was published on October 20, 2026; the first-round match was upcoming.
- Where
- Almaty, Kazakhstan.
- Why
- Medvedev said a short break would not help at this point in the season, and he likes the tournament and has commitments to it.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Medvedev won the Almaty title, beating Corentin Moutet in the final.
Medvedev won the Hangzhou title and reached the semifinals in Beijing.
Medvedev lost in the semifinals to Rafael Jodar.
Medvedev arrived in Almaty to defend his title while still seeking ATP Finals qualification.
Sho Shimabukuro beat Roman Safiullin to reach a first-round match against Medvedev.
- ATP ranking
- World No. 5
- Race to Turin
- Sixth; not yet qualified
- Almaty title
- Won in 2025, beating Corentin Moutet 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
- First-round opponent
- Sho Shimabukuro, ranked No. 109
- China record this year
- 11 wins in 12 matches before the loss to Rafael Jodar
1 source
What people are saying
If I had decided to skip Almaty, it would have made absolutely no sense to skip just Almaty; I would have needed to skip Vienna as well, because if you only skip Almaty, you come back home for three days, and it gives you absolutely nothing for the end of the season.
I also like this tournament here and have commitments to it, so altogether it was in a way an easy decision to come here. For sure I’m a bit tired, but it’s not the first time in my career that I’m tired, so I’m just going to try.
First of all, I was with my wife and kids in Shanghai. We were also here last year together, so we decided to come back because it’s a nice place for kids.