Daniil Medvedev to take on practice partner Taylor Fritz after seeing off Denis Shapovalov in Cincinnati

World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev will face a familiar face in the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open after seeing off Denis Shapovalov in straight sets in the last-16.

Home favourite Taylor Fritz is up next for the Russian, and the pair know each other well.

“Taylor is a great player and we have practiced quite a lot of times and even at this Australian Open, no not the Australian Open but before the ATP Cup so before the start of the season we had a session”, he recalled during his on-court interview.

Medvedev was asked if either player has gained a psychological edge from outperforming the other in practice.

“I think he beat me but it doesn’t really matter; I talked to my coach and said ‘wow he can play really good, it can be a good year for him’ and he won Indian Wells, you know maybe he could of done better at some other tournaments but hey he is a Masters champion and an amazing player and I need to be at my best to beat him”, he said.

Reflecting on his 7-5 7-5 triumph over Shapovalov, Medvedev said, “The match was pretty tight. I felt that it was a great level. I felt that he was missing a bit more than me but making more points, but that is how Shapo plays”.

The 2019 champion will be hoping to go far in the competition once more, and is happy with his performance level so far, saying, “My goal was to stay there every point possible and try and put pressure on him when I had the chance. But there were many points where I was just running across the baseline, trying to get back his shots. Generally happy with the level.”

Finding form in Cincinnati is vital with the US Open fast approaching, with the Grand Slam starting at Flushing Meadows on August 29.

Medvedev has spoken of his desire to see Novak Djokovic compete at the tournament, with the Serbian’s participation remaining unknown with unvaccinated foreign nationals currently barred from entering the country.

Fritz secured his place in the quarter-finals in Cincinnati by coming from a set down to see off Andrey Rublev 6-7 6-2 7-5.

The 24-year-old American admitted he had to adapt his game a lot during the match, saying, “I felt at times my serve rhythm was going away, but I just didn’t want to go a break down in the second set. I tried to hit some good serves, take some more risks.”

“I thought at the end of the first I was too passive. So I told myself to take chances.”

Fritz was impressed with his mental strength, saying, “It was a big match. I wasn’t going to let anything really bother me or affect me to where it might affect me to lose the match. Every time something didn’t go my way, I tried to analyse it and think about what to do next time to try and win the point.”