#4 Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev won the Sydney International in January last year by beating local player Alex De Minaur in the final and also won the Japan Open last year in October by beating Kei Nishikori. The 23-year-old is quite good with his deceptive drop shots and can be a tricky player at the net.
The Russian has also shown sharpness with his precise baselines but has often stressed on the need to work on his serves. His destructive two-handed backhands can outclass any opponent, especially on grass and hard courts.
Earlier this year, Medvedev won the Sofia Open in Bulgaria and also made it to the final of this year’s US Open where he lost to Rafael Nadal. With wins at the Shanghai Masters in October, the St Petersburg Open in Russia in September and Cincinnati Masters in August this year, Medvedev could certainly prove to be a tough opponent for the challengers.
#5 Matteo Berrettini
Matteo Berrettini is a 24-year-old youngster who is one of the most promising talents in the Italian Tennis fraternity. The Italian won the Hungarian Open in April this year by beating Filip Krajinovic of Serbia in the final.
Berrettini can bring about a surprise element in his game due to his unpredictability at the baseline and at the net, where he uses deceptive drop shots to collect points. Berrettini also won the Stuttgart Open in June this year and made it to the semi-finals of this year’s US Open.
The strongly built Italian has also displayed his sharpness with powerful groundstrokes and can unsettle any opponent with his top-flight serves. Given his pace on the surface and form, Berrettini could certainly be in line to clinch his third title of the year.