Medvedev staged a comeback to avenge Walton and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Almaty Open.

Four seeded players exited in the second round of the Almaty Open:

Top seed Khachanov was beaten 6-4, 7-7(5), 3-6 by Struff.

Fourth seed Darderi lost 3-6, 3-6 to Shintaro Mochizuki.

Seventh seed Diallo was defeated 6-7(3), 7-6(3), 4-6 by qualifier Duckworth.

Fifth seed Nakajima fell 6-7(5), 1-6 to Hungarian player Mauro Ran.

Moutet (8), Mickelson (6), Kobori (3), and Medvedev (2) advanced to the quarterfinals.

Medvedev skipped the Saudi Six Kings tournament to focus on Almaty, clearly aiming for the title. He has not won a championship in over two years, with his last being the 2023 Rome Masters. At the Shanghai Masters semifinal, he fought hard against Lindgren but missed the final. His main goal now is not the $1.5 million prize at the Six Kings event, but the title and ranking points to secure a spot at the Turin year-end finals.

On Thursday, in the second round, Medvedev took revenge on Walton by defeating the Australian 7-5, 7-6(0) to reach the ATP 250 Almaty quarterfinals.

In August at Cincinnati, Medvedev lost to Walton, but in Kazakhstan, he made sure history did not repeat. As the second seed, Medvedev was down 1-4 in the second set and saved four break points in the sixth game to avoid falling behind 1-5.

After holding serve, Medvedev launched a counterattack. He deepened his baseline shots, hitting 12 winners in the second set, and ultimately won the match in 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Previously, Medvedev reached the semifinals in Shanghai and Beijing, winning 8 of his last 10 matches. His next opponent will be Mauro Ran.

Medvedev commented after the match:

“This match was very tough. When I was down 1-4, I remember saving four or five break points. That was crucial because I managed to break back and regain my rhythm. I’m really happy to have beaten such a strong opponent.”

In their ATP head-to-head record, Medvedev and Walton are tied at 1-1.

The 29-year-old Medvedev is chasing his first title since 2023. Currently, he has moved up one spot to 14th on the ATP Turin Finals qualification list and still has a chance to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the seventh consecutive year. He trails eighth-ranked Lorenzo Musetti by 1,075 points.