“What the living f**k was he doing throwing that racket?”, Rennae Stubbs lashed out at Daniil Medvedev after his burst of emotions at the Laver Cup last week. The Russian star failed to control his anger during his match against Ben Shelton and angrily threw his racket into the crowd. Luckily for Medvedev, it didn’t hit anybody, and he escaped punishment. However, it summed up the season that Medvedev is having. The former US Open champion will be looking for redemption at the China Open, but the path is not going to be smooth for him.

Medvedev next faces an unpredictable Adrian Mannarino, who can defeat any player on his day. The Frenchman will use all his experience over the years when he takes on Medvedev later today.

Daniil Medvedev vs Adrian Mannarino: Preview

The 2024 season has been in stark contrast to the previous season for Medvedev. He is yet to win a title this year and has reached just a couple of finals—a disappointing figure by his standards. Medvedev has also had an inconsistent run in tournaments of late. Before the China Open, he was on a three-match losing streak and lost both his Laver Cup matches against the likes of Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe.

However, Medvedev doesn’t require long to get back on track. The Russian star produced a masterclass performance to oust Gael Monfils in the first round of the China Open. The Frenchman was completely outplayed by a resurgent Medvedev in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. Medvedev is the third seed in the China Open and will look to end his title drought. Thus, expect Medvedev to be at his dominant best against Mannarino.

On the other hand, Mannarino is aging like a fine wine. He has been playing at the top level for years now. However, this year, he has played on both the ATP Tour as well as the Challenger Tour. Like Medvedev, he hasn’t won any titles this year and has had inconsistent performances in 2024. However, he will take some inspiration from two back-to-back quarterfinal appearances at Rennes and Chengdu before coming into the China Open. Thus, expect Mannarino to give his all against a superior Medvedev.

Medvedev vs Mannarino: Head-to-head

Both Medvedev and Mannarino have been playing on the ATP Tour for years and are very experienced players. Thus, it is no surprise that the two have found each other often on opposite ends of the court. Daniil Medvedev and Mannarino have played against each other seven times before, and their matches have often been intriguing, going either way. This is proven by their head-to-head record, which stands at 4-3 in favor of the Frenchman.

However, the two are yet to play this year, with their last faceoff coming at the Wimbledon Championships last year, which was won by Medvedev in straight sets. The Russian star would look to continue his winning run against Mannarino and level his head-to-head record.

Prediction: Medvedev to cruise through to the quarterfinals

Although Medvedev is not in the best form this year, the Russian star has a never-say-die attitude. As a result, expect him to lift his game when it matters the most. And what better time to end his title drought than now? Medvedev is a strong favorite to prevail over Mannarino, and the stats don’t lie. He is ranked fifth in the world, while Mannarino is just inside the top 50 at the 44th spot. Additionally, Medvedev has a win percentage of more than 70% this year, whereas Mannarino has won just 30% of his matches.

Another interesting aspect of Medvedev’s game has been his return of serves. During his first-round win over Monfils in Beijing, he won more than 50% of the return points, and expect him to produce a similar performance against Mannarino, who has been struggling with his serves of late.

Thus, Medvedev is expected to have a comfortable win over Mannarino in straight sets and enter the quarterfinals of the China Open. Their match will take place later today on Diamond Court.