Jimmy Connors gives his honest feelings on Daniil Medvedev after he wins the Hangzhou Open

Daniil Medvedev won his third title of the season at the Hangzhou Open in China.

Earlier this week, Medvedev defeated Andrey Rublev, 7-5, 6-4, in the Hangzhou final to win his 24th ATP title and add 250 points to his tally. The Russian remains in eighth place in the ‘Live ATP Race to Turin’, on course to qualify for the ATP Finals this November.

Tennis legend Jimmy Connors has now shared his thoughts on Medvedev’s latest win and commented on his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin.

“I like him winning. I like his game. He is playing against these young kids too, and for every year he adds, it gets tougher and tougher. I like seeing him in the winner’s circle. He has proven himself. He has won some big events, and he’s a Grand Slam champion,” said the American during the latest episode of ‘Advantage Connors‘.

“So why not go out there and continue to fight and grind and try to be one of the final eight at the end of the year? That is a pretty special event to play, and there is a lot of pressure to get there. Good for him.”

Medvedev missed the ATP Finals last year, failing to qualify for the first time since 2018. Returning to form in 2026, the 30-year-old looks well placed to return to the year-end championships.

He currently occupies the final qualification spot and has a 551-point gap to ninth-placed Rafael Jodar. 10th-placed Taylor Fritz is a further 29 points behind. The good news for Medvedev is that Jodar and Fritz lost early this week, gifting him a golden opportunity to widen the gap.

If Medvedev wins the China Open, he will lead Jodar by 1,001 points in the ‘Live ATP Race’. With two Masters 1000 events still to play, he wouldn’t be guaranteed a spot in the ATP Finals, but you’d certainly fancy his chances.

The Russian has already won his first-round match in Beijing, defeating Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta, 6-4, 6-2. Medvedev will return on Saturday, October 3, for his second round.

Medvedev will play world number 59, Jan-Lennard Struff, in the second round. Medvedev is 8-2 against Struff, but did lose their most recent encounter at this year’s Wimbledon Championships.

If he can return to winning ways against the German, he will likely meet Czechia’s Jakub Mensik in the quarter-finals. Medvedev and Mensik have never played each other on the ATP Tour. It’s tough to predict a winner, although Medvedev might just edge it as the higher-ranked player.

Daniil Medvedev’s possible China Open opponents

Then, in the semi-finals, Medvedev could play Alexander Zverev or Novak Djokovic. The Russian would certainly walk onto the court as an underdog against the now two-time Grand Slam champion and world number one-chasing Zverev, but he will back himself against the Serb, who hasn’t looked anywhere close to his best recently.

Medvedev will be up against it in the semis, although if he can beat Djokovic or Zverev, he would arguably become the favourite for the title. After several seeds lost in the first round, Alex de Minaur is the only ‘top’ player remaining in the bottom half of the draw.

Given that Medvedev boasts a winning head-to-head record (8-4) against the Aussie, you wouldn’t bet against him taking the title should he play De Minaur in the final. He won’t want to get ahead of himself, though, and will first turn his attention to Struff in the second round.

This article first appeared on Tennishead and was syndicated with permission.