Thibaut Simon, Media365: published on Sunday December 21, 2025 at 6:18 p.m.
In preparation, Daniil Medvedev lost in India against the local Dhakshineswar Suresh, 524th in the ATP. A surprise for the Russian.
The 2026 season has not started, but players continue to refine their preparations around the world. If the first meeting of the year will take place in Australia with the United Cup, Brisbane and Hong Kong will host the first ATP tournaments of the season. In the meantime, it is in India that Daniil Medvedev has decided to launch his preparation, he who ended 2025 with a defeat in Paris in the quarter-final of the Masters 1000. Separated from his coach Gilles Cervara last August, the Russian participated in the World Tennis League, a mixed team competition, which pits players from the circuit against each other via men’s and women’s singles and mixed doubles. If Medvedev lost to Gaël Monfils in the opening, he then found some momentum against Denis Shapovalov.
A surprise defeat for Medvedev
Engaged for this exhibition at the start of the season, Daniil Medvedev had to reassure himself and regain sensations following his past year, finishing in 13th place. Bad luck, the Russian experienced disillusionment. If the defeat against Monfils, a future retiree, was nothing to worry about, the one against the Indian Dhakshineswar Suresh is a little more so. Ranked 524th in the world, the 25-year-old dominated Medvedev in a set (6-4) – each match took place in a set and an accumulation of points made it possible to determine the teams ending up in the final – not conceding a single break point, while taking the Russian’s serve on his first opportunity of the set. By finishing with a furious forehand along the line, Suresh surely gave himself the greatest sensation of his career, he who is used to the secondary circuit at the ATP. Let’s hope that this little hitch does not happen again for the winner of the US Open 2021, who wants to return to the top 10 as quickly as possible.
