Daniil Medvedev vs Arthur Fils Prediction – Tennis Picks 10-25-2023

Top seed Daniil Medvedev will start his title defense of the Vienna Open against French teenager Arthur Fils. The match will be played on Wednesday, October 25, 2023.

Daniil Medvedev won the Vienna Open last year, in what was the most underwhelming tennis year of his career since he rose to prominence. But the situation is much better in 2023, despite a slow start to the campaign in Australia. Medvedev has won five titles this year, including a maiden ATP title on his least-favorite surface – red clay – in Rome. He accounts for the most wins on hard courts this season with 43, so Arthur Fils’ task couldn’t have gotten any harder.

Arthur Fils, however, will come into the Vienna Open steaming with confidence. The 19-year-old reached his second ATP final last Sunday in Antwerp, earning a second Top 10 win of his embryonic tennis career by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets. He came up short in the final against the mercurial brilliance of Alexander Bublik who remains an indoor hard-court specialist. Nevertheless, his transition to the main tour is now complete and the French Next Gen star is undoubtedly a player to watch out for in the coming years.

Daniil Medvedev and Arthur Fils have never played at any level. But that is unlikely to give the top-seeded Medvedev a sleepless night. Medvedev is the king of the hard courts in 2023, winning the most titles and most matches on the surface than any other player. Although he was a pedestrian in Shanghai where he was defending the title he won in 2019, it was evidently clear that the week in Beijing took a lot from him mentally and physically, and he was not in the right headspace in his defeat to Sebastian Korda. Fils has a solid baseline game and great serve, but not the tactical acumen to beat a player of Medvedev’s caliber. The Russian will frustrate Fils and I can see him coming out on top in straight sets.