Daniil Medvedev has made a big impact on the ATP Tour this week after winning his 24th title in Hangzhou.
Medvedev beat Andrey Rublev in the Hangzhou Open final, as he rediscovered some form after a disappointing US Open hard court swing.
It has been a mixed season for Medvedev, who has now won three titles this year and reached the Indian Wells final, but has not reached the quarter-final of any Grand Slam tournament.
Medvedev is currently eighth in the race to the ATP Finals, and his win at the Hangzhou Open is not good for the likes of Taylor Fritz and Rafael Jodar.
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Daniil Medvedev improves chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals over Taylor Fritz and Rafael Jodar
Medvedev did not qualify for the ATP Finals last year for the first time since 2018, but he is currently on track to return to the exclusive year-end tournament.
The former world number one was eighth before the Hangzhou Open, but after winning the title, Medvedev has extended his lead over ninth positioned Jodar and 10th placed Fritz to 511 points and 540 points, respectively.
With few tournaments until the end of the season, Jodar and Fritz have a big task to now try and catch the likes of Arthur Fils and Medvedev, who currently occupy those remaining positions. Even more so as Medvedev has many tournaments scheduled to confirm his place in the ATP Finals, as he is set to play in Beijing, Shanghai, Almaty, Vienna and Paris before the end of the year.
The only three players confirmed to have qualified for the ATP Finals so far are Alexander Zverev, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, with the latter currently doing so as a result of winning a Grand Slam title this year. Ben Shelton, Flavio Cobolli, Frances Tiafoe, Fils and Medvedev occupy the remaining positions at the moment, with Novak Djokovic all the way down in 12th in the race to the ATP Finals.
| Live Race to the ATP Finals | Points earned in 2026 |
| 1. Alexander Zverev (Qualified) | 8650 |
| 2. Jannik Sinner (Qualified) | 7950 |
| 3. Ben Shelton | 4430 |
| 4. Carlos Alcaraz (Qualified) | 4050 |
| 5. Flavio Cobolli | 3530 |
| 6. Frances Tiafoe | 3330 |
| 7. Arthur Fils | 3225 |
| 8. Daniil Medvedev | 3020 |
| 9. Rafael Jodar | 2509 |
| 10. Taylor Fritz | 2480 |
What Daniil Medvedev has said about trying to qualify for the ATP Finals
Medvedev is also very aware of his current position, and in an interview with Bolshe he was asked about if qualifying for the ATP Finals is a big goal of his now. While Medvedev insisted that it is, he actually thought it was Cobolli behind him and explained that he will not be putting himself under pressure about it before each of his matches.
“For this season, 100%, it’s the main remaining goal, but it always depends on results,” responded Medvedev. “I mean, here I played well, I got my 250 points, that’s good. I think I’m number eight in the race right now, I’m ahead of someone by those 250 points, I think it’s Cobolli behind me but I’m not sure.
“But I would never in my life follow that, like, ‘Oh, I must win my next match, I have 45 points.’ Okay, maybe only in Paris.
“And even that, last year I think I had a chance to finish in the top 10, and that’s not about Turin, but it’s a good thing to finish in the top 10 and I lost to Zverev after having a match point. I didn’t lose to him because of the top 10 pressure, it was just a match where I couldn’t win.
“So to the goal is to play, show good tennis, try to go far in tournaments, and then I’ll be in Turin. If I lose in the first rounds, well, then I probably won’t be there. So the goal is there, but it needs to be achieved step by step.”
Medvedev will look to continue extending his lead over Jodar and Fritz at the China Open, where he will play Pablo Carreno Busta in the first round.
