Canada’s Vasek Pospisil has recorded another major upset.
The unseeded Pospisil continued his strong month with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over top-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia in the first round of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament on Tuesday.
The 104th-ranked Pospisil was coming off a run to the final at the Open Sud de France, where he posted upset wins over Aljaz Bedene, compatriot Denis Shapovalov, Richard Gasquet and David Goffin before falling to Gael Monfils.
The victory over Medvedev, ranked fifth in the world, was Pospisil’s biggest upset of the year. Medvedev won four tournaments last year and reached the final of the U.S. Open. “It doesn’t happen every day that you can beat a player of Daniil’s calibre,” said Pospisil. “You always believe in yourself and you know you can do it, especially if you have done it in the past, which I have.
Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil upset world No. 5 player Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-3, in the first round of the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands. 0:52
It marks the second week in a row Pospisil has eliminated a top-10 opponent — Goffin was No. 10. Pospisil is now 7-28 in his career versus top-10 players.
Pospisil, from Vancouver, saved five of six break points and converted on three of five break-point opportunities versus Medvedev. He’ll face world No. 39 Filip Krajinovic of Serbia in the second round of the ATP Tour 500 indoor hardcourt event on Thursday.
The Canadian’s ranking plummeted after he missed the first six months of the 2019 season to recover from back surgery. He posted solid results upon his return and helped anchor the Canadian team at the Davis Cup Finals last fall. Pospisil, who cracked the top 25 in 2014, can use his protected ranking for tournament entries through Miami next month.
Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime faced Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in a second-round match later Thursday.
