Daniil Medvedev smashes racket during upset loss to Sebastian Korda at Shanghai Masters

Russia's Daniil Medvedev destroyed one of his rackets during a frustrating 6-7(8), 2-6 loss to World No. 26 Sebastian Korda at the 2023 Shanghai Masters.

Korda caused an upset in Shanghai on Sunday, October 8, with his second win over Medvedev. He is now ahead 2-1 in the head-to-head count against his Russian counterpart. His maiden win against the World No. 3 came at the Australian Open in January this year.

Medvedev's Shanghai Masters campaign ended in the third round courtesy of four double faults and a poor return rating of 52 against Korda's 159. He could only manage 17 winners during the entire match.

Medvedev was far from his best against the 23-year-old on Sunday as nerves got the better of him. His frustration was evident as he smashed his racket hard three times against the side chair.

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The match began on a competitive note with the opening set going into a tiebreak. Korda, however, managed to edge ahead towards the end.

The following set was a one-sided affair with Medvedev losing the plot. His serve was broken twice and he fared poorly with a 76 rating on the return.

Following his win, Korda stated that with the first set in his pocket, all he needed to do was to put Daniil Medvedev's serve under pressure.

“We played really good tennis from the beginning. I’m just really happy to get that first set under my belt and then it was just a matter of getting into one of his [Daniil Medvedev] service games and hopefully taking it home after,” Korda said in his on-court interview.

"Definitely one of the biggest victories" - Sebastian Korda on beating Daniil Medvedev at Shanghai Masters

Sebastian Korda celebrates victory against Daniil Medvedev: 2023 Shanghai Masters

Sebastian Korda labeled his victory over Daniil Medvedev in the third round of the Shanghai Masters as "one of the biggest". He mentioned that it was a tough outing against the Russian, saying:

“He’s so quick, it’s really tough to get anything by him, especially when you have a court this big and the balls get pretty fluffy out here so it gets a little bit slower.”

“It’s been a very difficult year for sure. I had a long pause on my year for three months. It’s definitely one of the biggest victories in my career for sure,” he added.

Sebastian Korda will next play Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo in the pre-quarterfinals of the Shanghai Masters.