Danil Medvedev edged past Belarusian qualifier Egor Gerasimov 7-5 7-5 in 91 minutes to reach the final at the St. Petersburg Open.
Medvedev broke serve in the 11th game to win the opening set 7-5. After a trade of breaks in the seventh and eighth games of the second set, Medvedev broke for the second time in the 11th game and served out the second set 7-5 at deuce.
The 23-year-old Russian player has become the first player since Novak Djokovic in 2018 to reach five conscutive finals. This summer he won his maiden Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati and finished runner-up to Nick Kyrgios in Washington and to Rafael Nadal in Montreal and at the US Open.
Medvedev will be bidding to become the first Russian player to win the St. Petersburg Open since Mi
“I am extremely happy to be in my first final in my home country. I came here to win the tournament, that’s what I am doing. I am looking forward to the final. Tough opponent, and hopefully a great fight tomorrow”, said Medvedev.
Medvedev set up a final against Borna Coric, who came back from one set down to beat Joao Sousa 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-1. The young Croatian player has reached his first final since losing to Novak Djokovic in Shanghai in October 2018.
Sousa won the opening set 6-3 with his only break in in the fourth game. The Portuguese player saved two breaks in the second and tenth games. Coric fended off two break points to hold his serve after three deuces. Coric took the 7-5 edge in the tie-break. Coric broke three times in the first, fifth and seventh games to win the third set 6-1.
