Winston-Salem final preview and prediction: Johnson vs. Medvedev

Steve Johnson and Daniil Medvedev will renew what has already become an extensive rivalry when they battle for the Winston-Salem Open title on Saturday evening.

Medvedev is leading the head-to-head series 3-1–including 2-0 on hard courts–and there will be no love lost in their fifth career contest. The Russian won a couple of contentious three-setters last year in Eastbourne and Washington, D.C. before getting the job done 7-6(0), 6-4 earlier this season at the Indian Wells Masters. Johnson finally got on the scoreboard by prevailing 6-2, 6-4 in Eastbourne a couple of months ago.

The 34th-ranked American is attempting to capture titles on three different surfaces in 2018. He triumphed on the red clay of Houston in April and kicked off his post-Wimbledon summer swing by lifting a grass-court trophy in Newport. Johnson has maintained his fine form this week with straight-set victories over Tommy Paul, Jaume Munar, Kyle Edmund, and Pablo Carreno Busta.

Medvedev has been similarly dominant in Winston-Salem, coasting past Mirza Basic, Alex de Minaur, Guido Andreozzi, Ryan Harrison, and Taro Daniel without dropping a single set. The world No. 57 was especially dominant on Friday, when he destroyed Daniel 6-1, 6-1.

This will likely be a high-quality contest between two in-form players, but a slight edge may go to Johnson. He should benefit from home-court advantage in the United States and he has won seven consecutive sets without even requiring a tiebreaker.

Pick: Johnson in 3

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