Daniil Medvedev is almost always racing toward the next tournament on the calendar. But then again, aren’t most tennis players? With how packed the tennis schedule has become, there’s barely any time to catch a breath between events. Just after clinching his third title of the season by defeating Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-4 in the Hangzhou Open final, Medvedev had to make a nearly 800-mile trip to Beijing, where he is set to begin his China Open campaign on Thursday.

And with that tight turnaround, the Russian was clearly hoping to get through the prize ceremony as quickly as possible. Unfortunately for him, the ATP’s PR team had other plans. The moment unfolded when Medvedev was seen asking whether the ceremony would take too long, pointing out that he had a packed schedule ahead.

The ATP PR representative then stepped in to remind him which sponsors he needed to thank during his winning speech.

While the ATP and WTA rulebooks generally focus on areas such as the code of conduct and media obligations rather than prescribing specific victory speeches, players are still expected to acknowledge the commercial partners supporting the tournaments.

Those sponsors help fund prize money and cover tournament operating costs, making their visibility an important part of the business side of the sport. For Medvedev, though, with another tournament waiting just around the corner, even a short trophy ceremony suddenly seemed like something to get through quickly.

Nevertheless, after acknowledging the sponsors, Medvedev had praise in store for his good friend, Rublev. In fact, the 30-year-old hilariously apologized for hitting 23 aces during the encounter.

“I’m really happy to see you in this final,” he said in his speech. “Sorry that I served good today, but hopefully we can finish the season this strong.”

Medvedev had quite a strong campaign at the Hangzhou Open, losing just one set in four matches. Being the No. 1 seed of the tournament, he began his campaign with a solid start and defeated Valentin Royer 7-6, 6-3. The quarterfinal clash against Coleman Wong was a little tricky, but the World No. 6 pulled through and recorded a hard-fought 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 triumph.

Following this, Medvedev met his compatriot Roman Safiullin in the semifinals. Though the match was expected to be a close affair, the 30-year-old finished it off in straight sets and won 7-5, 6-4. The final against Rublev saw Medvedev dominate with his serve once again, firing several aces and taking his tally to 64 for the tournament.

Rublev failed to manage the onslaught and wasn’t able to clinch even a single break of serve during the match. On the other hand, Medvedev gained two breaks over his opponent, which were enough to hand him a straight-set win. He now has a commanding 8-2 lead over Rublev in the H2H record.

Having missed out on qualification for the ATP Finals last year, the triumph at the Hangzhou Open sees Medvedev sit eighth in the race to Turin, and he is firmly in contention to return to the tournament. He now has 27 wins on hard courts this season and is level for the most victories on the surface with Alexander Zverev.

After a positive start to the Asian swing, Medvedev will be aiming to continue this form in Beijing. He will be taking on qualifier Pablo Carreno Busta in the first round of the tournament. Medvedev has a promising record at the China Open in recent years, reaching the final in 2023 and the semifinals in 2024 and 2025.

The victory over Rublev saw Medvedev equal John McEnroe’s and Stefan Edberg’s remarkable hard-court record,  moving him up multiple places on an elite list.

Daniil Medvedev equals John McEnroe and Stefan Edberg with his triumph at the Hangzhou Open

Medvedev now has 22 titles under his belt on hard courts, the same as John McEnroe, Stefan Edberg and Michael Chang. The Russian has surpassed Andy Roddick’s tally of 21 titles on the surface. This stat once again highlights Medvedev’s superb record on the hard courts.

After a dismal North American swing where his best result was reaching the fourth round of the US Open, the veteran appears to be back in the game with his title win in Hangzhou. But with the race to the ATP Finals heating up, Medvedev can’t afford to take his foot off the gas.

He needs a strong Asian swing to secure a spot in the year-end tournament and will be aiming to make a deep run at the China Open. Medvedev will be the favorite to advance against Carreno Busta.

The two have previously faced each other on seven occasions, and Medvedev leads the H2H record by 5-2. It remains to be seen whether he will be able to continue his dominance in the matchup in Beijing.