As action at the 2024 Indian Wells is getting all heated up, Daniil Medvedev is set to play against one of the American hopefuls, Sebastian Korda in the Round of 32 match of the tournament. Medvedev has notoriously been founding wanting against Korda, trailing 1-2 on head-to-head.
The Medvedev vs Korda 2023 Australian Open contest was a template for the American to overcome his higher-ranked opponent. Sebastian Korda won the match 7-6 (9-7), 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), in straight sets, despite two tie-breaks. It took something special from Korda to knock the Russian player out in the third round.
Daniil Medvedev fought hard throughout the match to stay in the game, possibly steal a set, and then put pressure back on Korda. But Korda didn’t let loose even for a single point. Korda was in terrific form, having defeated Christian Garin and Yosuke Watanuki in the first two rounds.
After the match, Medvedev was mighty impressed with Korda’s performance, and he had a few words to say about him in the press conference.
“His game, yeah! Kind of different from everybody because of very aggressive and very, very early he takes the ball; a little bit maybe like Novak (Djokovic). But yeah, well, not every player is capable of doing that,” said Medvedev about Korda at the press conference on Australian Open TV.
Sebastian Korda is a terrific player. But to be heralded in the same company as Novak Djokovic by the World No.4 player Daniil Medvedev, speaks volumes about the American.
Daniil Medvedev, who entered the 2024 Indian Wells tournament as a runner-up, also entered the 2023 Australian Open as a runner-up of the 2022 edition. Korda ended his run at the Happy Slam in 2023, and he again has the chance to end Medvedev’s run now.
Will he be able to do it again? In hindsight, Australian Open surfaces are harder and faster those at the Indian Wells. Could the slowness of the Californian soil at the Indian Wells give Medvedev the edge? We shall find out soon.
Sebastian Korda vs Daniil Medvedev: Who will win?
Make no mistake that Daniil Medvedev is still the favorite to win. A Grand Slam winner (US Open 2021), multiple Grand Slam finals, 20 ATP titles, and countless other wins in his career, automatically puts him ahead of most other competitors. Not to forget, he is ranked 4th in the world. But Korda will be relying on his game from last time, his learnings, and try to exploit Medvedev’s weaknesses.
The other time Korda won against Medvedev was at the 2023 ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai. It was the Round of 32 match and Korda won once again on an outdoor hard court. Medvedev beat Korda for the only time in an indoor hard court match at the 2021 ATP Masters 1000 Paris. Medvedev has a 10-2 win-loss record in 2024, which is staggering. Compared to that, Korda has a 9-6 win-loss record in 2024, which gives Medvedev the edge in this regard too.
The Sebastian Korda vs Daniil Medvedev match will start not before 10:15 pm on Monday, March 11, 2024. The temperature in Indian Wells, California will be around 23 degrees Celsius, with 18 km/h wind speed, 25% humidity, and no precipitation. The match will be streaming live on the Tennis Channel in the USA and Sky Sports in the UK.
