It takes foes to meet! How did Medvedev and Lerner Qian form the "Medvedev-Qian" doubles pair?

Beginning from last year's China Open semifinals, American rising star Lerner Qian and Russia's Medvedev have already played three matches in just three months.

At the China Open semifinal, Lerner Qian beat Medvedev, who withdrew due to injury in the third set; then in the Shanghai Masters fourth round, Medvedev defeated Lerner Qian 2-1; and in the Australian Open fourth round this January, Lerner Qian won in three straight sets against Medvedev.

It is indeed quite rare for two players to compete so frequently within such a brief period.

Arriving at Indian Wells, this pair of frequent opponents didn't meet in the early rounds of the singles draw; instead, they teamed up as doubles partners, transforming from rivals across the net into teammates sharing the same side of the court.

However, this "foes" duo didn't produce impressive results. They lost their first doubles match 5-7, 3-6 to a pair of cousins—yes, you guessed it, the two players from last year's Shanghai Masters singles final: the French cousin Lindeknecht and the Monaco cousin Vacherot.

Disappointing in doubles, but thriving in singles. As players primarily focused on singles, Lerner Qian and Medvedev each advanced steadily in their singles matches, both reaching the singles round of 16.

On March 9, after defeating eighth seed Shelton, Lerner Qian discussed partnering with Medvedev in doubles, stating that Medvedev's coach initiated the doubles invitation.

“His coach contacted my coach,” Lerner Qian said. “Initially, several people invited me to play doubles, but my coach didn’t want me to play doubles; he wanted me to focus solely on singles.”

“But when Daniil asked, we were more like—obviously we are both singles players, and we don’t particularly prioritize doubles, so we felt it wouldn’t really affect singles. I thought it would be fun, so I agreed,” Lerner Qian added.

At an Indian Wells press conference, Medvedev praised Lerner Qian’s high tennis IQ: “Among young players, Lerner Qian definitely stands out (as having high tennis IQ). I’ve played him four times, each match was completely different, but his ability to control the court and steer points to favorable situations is truly impressive. We’re partnering in doubles tomorrow; I really admire his style and hope he achieves great success in his career.”

What happened later indeed matched Lerner Qian’s expectation. On the doubles court, this “foes” pair played only one match and exited early. Some fans joked that the Chinese name of this duo sounds unlucky—the “Medvedev-Qian” combination doesn’t sound quite auspicious.

The early exit of the “Medvedev-Qian” doubles pair indeed didn’t affect their respective singles performances. After all, professional players book courts for training daily during tournaments; forming a temporary doubles team can be treated as training, plus there’s prize money to earn.

After the doubles exit, the next question is—will they meet on the singles court at Indian Wells?

The answer is possible.

In the singles draw, Lerner Qian and Medvedev are placed in separate halves, meaning if they truly meet, it could only happen in the final.

This morning, Lerner Qian defeated Fokina 2-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. Tomorrow morning, Medvedev will face Mikkelsen in the fourth round, aiming to reach the quarterfinals. We hope Medvedev and Lerner Qian continue their winning streaks in singles and stage a “Medvedev-Qian” final at Indian Wells.（Source: Tennis Home, Author: Yun Juan Yun Shu）