Daniil Medvedev’s slump is showing no signs of ending as the Russian star was dumped out of the Cincinnati Open on Sunday. The 29-year-old was comfortably beaten by Adam Walton in the opening round of the competition to pile further pressure on the former world No. 1.

Medvedev has previously thrived during the US summer swing, but the last few months have been something of a disaster and he now finds himself desperately looking to turn the tide on a dreadful run of form.

Facing the world No. 85 looked like an ideal opportunity for Medvedev to get back on track, but he tasted defeat once again and remains with just one win to his name in his last two ATP Masters 1000s this year. Despite winning the first set and showing glimpses of his quality, the wheels truly fell off in the harsh Ohio heat and Medvedev was beaten 7-6(0), 4-6, 1-6.

The former US Open winner has not shied away from addressing his concerns amid his drastic downturn in form, but identifying his biggest problem remains his priority and his defeat to Walton only highlighted further issues.

Tensions boiled over on-court on several occasions throughout the clash, with an unforced error sparking Medvedev into a fierce rage. After stumbling as he looked to line up a simple forehand shot and therefore finding the net, the Russian turned and raged at his box, questioning how he was throwing away his lead in such damning fashion.

Medvedev is now without a title in two seasons and has won just one of his last four hard-court matches, with the gulf in quality between himself and high-flyers Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner continuing to grow.

Speaking at the Mubadala Citi DC Open recently, the world No. 12 admitted that he needs to turn things around sooner rather than later, telling ATPTour.com: “It’s very tough in tennis, because I could find 10 reasons and I would not know which one is the main reason. Whatever we do, we just try to improve. So we sat down with the team: Where can we do things better? What can we change? We discussed some things and I’m going to try and implement it.

“This is the most exciting part of the season, there is hard courts until Miami next year. So I will try to give my best and enjoy it. It’s an opportunity, I want to take it as a challenge of trying to raise my level in the big occasions, trying to go step by step.”