Medvedev hits 50th top-ten victory and makes subtle reaction after de Minaur triumph

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Daniil Medvedev has hit his stride again in Shanghai, advancing to the semifinals of the ATP Masters 1000 event after a win over Alex de Minaur.

Medvedev beat de Minaur in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, picking up his 50th career top-ten victory. He is only the second player born after 1990 to reach that milestone, following Alexander Zverev.

This year’s tournament marks Medvedev’s third with new coach Thomas Johansson and his form has been impressive throughout.

With a semifinal clash against Arthur Rinderknech on the horizon, Medvedev said he had been waiting for a run like this to come together.

Medvedev reacts to reaching the semifinals in Shanghai

“I did expect this,” he said in his on-court interview. “I played great in Beijing. I was serving for the match to be in the final against Jannik [Sinner].

“I played great in Hangzhou. I was serving for the match and didn’t win it, but as long as I can serve for the match like this, maybe I can go far.”

After Medvedev sealed the win with an ace, former British player Naomi Broady picked up on a quiet reaction from him.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Broady said: “I think Medvedev just mouthed ‘unbelievable’ to himself after he hit that ace.”

The Russian appeared sharp throughout, closing out the match in just under an hour – a quick turnaround by his tournament standards.

“I was super tired,” said the former world number one. “I knew that against Alex, like Learner, we were going to have long points and I think in the third or fourth game we had a couple. I was like this is going to be a long day!

“But at 1-1, 0-40 I managed to play some good points and went back up straight away and felt better physically after that.”

Medvedev hits major milestone alongside Djokovic and Monfils

When Medvedev takes the court against Rinderknech, it will be his 50th career semifinal on hard courts.

He’s now just the third active player to reach that mark, joining veterans Gael Monfils and Novak Djokovic, who have 51 and 126 appearances respectively.

READ MORE: Coco Gauff breaks Serena and Venus Williams record with Wuhan Open victory

Following Medvedev on the list are Zverev with 44 and Marin Cilic with 43. The world number 18 now has a clear path to his first ATP Masters 1000 final since Indian Wells in 2024.