Daniil Medvedev is making strides, but it’s no easy walk. The Russian, who was forced to retire from the semifinals of the China Open last week after struggling to walk due to cramps, came back to Shanghai with a bang. He cruised past his opening round in Mainland China, beating Dalibor Svrcina to kick off his campaign. But his round of 32 match turned into a real battle. The 2021 US Open champion came out on top, yet it was far from easy.

On Monday, Medvedev took down Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in a thrilling clash. He won in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6, but after the match, the 29-year-old collapsed on his bench, gasping for air. Drenched in sweat, he sat with his eyes closed, trying to catch his breath amid Shanghai’s brutal humidity that has already drained plenty of players in the first week!

One user on X wrote, “[Translated from French] The state in which Daniil Medvedev finishes after two sets played in Shanghai. 😳” And honestly, it was a miracle he made it through. The scorching conditions forced withdrawals from the defending champion Jannik Sinner, Tomas Machac, Casper Ruud, David Goffin, Hamad Medjedovic, Terence Atmane, and Wu Yibing, turning a tennis tournament into a battle of endurance. Medvedev hasn’t stayed quiet about it either.

The former World No.1 started his Shanghai Masters 1000 campaign in commanding fashion, dropping just two games against world No. 91 Dalibor Svrcina in a one-sided opener. The Russian looked sharp from the very start and barely gave his opponent a chance, adjusting quickly to the heat that’s defined this year’s tournament.

After the match, Medvedev admitted the weather has made things unusually tough for players. “It had never happened before and I must admit that it is hard to play in these conditions,” he told Championat. “There have already been numerous withdrawals and many medical time-outs in these first days of the tournament, the situation is quite worrying. I’m happy to have played my first match here in the night session and to have won with ease.”

Right now, the Masters has just three former 1000 champions left: Medvedev, Novak Djokovic, and Holger Rune, and the conditions aren’t sparing the other two either!

Rune and Djokovic echo Daniil Medvedev’s sentiments on the Shanghai heat

On October 6, Novak Djokovic found himself fighting more than just Yannick Hanfmann in his third-round match at the Shanghai Masters. The 24-time Grand Slam champion and four-time winner here was pushed to his physical limit, with Spanish journalist Jose Moron shared a clip on X showing Djokovic vomiting twice, once during a game, once on a changeover. He somehow kept going, tweaking his strategy to shorten rallies and outlast the punishing mix of 30°C heat and 70% humidity.

At 38, chasing a fifth Shanghai title, Djokovic knew the conditions were a big opponent. After taking out Marin Cilic on October 3, he told ATP Tour’s website, “It’s crazy humid, to be honest. I don’t recall the weather being so humid in China.” And after beating Hanfmann, he stressed it again: “I’ve been saying it before … it’s brutal when you have over 80% of humidity day after day. For me, biologically a bit more challenging to deal with it.”

The heat wasn’t sparing anyone, Holger Rune was also in trouble. Facing Ugo Humbert in the second round, the Dane, down a break, called a medical timeout, sitting shirtless and struggling as the physio checked his blood sugar and brought ice towels. He turned to the umpire with frustration: “Hey, why doesn’t ATP have a good heat rule?” The umpire replied, “I don’t know, but that is a very good question.” Rune didn’t hold back: “You want players to die on the court?”

It’s a reminder of Daniil Medvedev’s famous complaint at the 2023 US Open. Now, the Russian has battled through Shanghai’s sauna-like conditions into the round of 16, where he faces a rematch against American teenager Learner Tien. The same opponent cut short his run at the China Open semis. Could revenge be on the line? Share your views in the comments!