He has beaten Medvedev twice this year – in a memorable five-setter at the Australian Open and again in the semi-finals of last week’s China Open, where the Russian was forced to retire with cramps.

The 19-year-old went on to reach the fourth round in Melbourne and has beaten two top five players this year in Medvedev and Lorenzo Musetti.

He was beaten in the China Open final by world number two Jannik Sinner, who was forced to retire injured in Shanghai on Monday.

Medvedev, looking to end a difficult year on a high, beat Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3 7-6 (7-5).

Earlier, world number three Alexander Zverev suffered another early exit as he fell 4-6 6-3 6-2 to Arthur Rinderknech.

It is the second time this year that Frenchman Rinderknech has beaten Zverev, having knocked him out of Wimbledon in the first round.

Germany’s Zverev reached the Australian Open final at the start of the year but has had an underwhelming season since, claiming just one title.

“My year has been terrible, I’m just playing terrible tennis all round,” Zverev said.

“It’s nothing unusual for me, unfortunately, these days.”