Daniil Medvedev is on the brink of the semi-finals after defeating Alexander Zverev 6-3 6-7(3) 7-6(6) at the Nitto ATP Finals.
The Russian defeated Zverev for a fifth consecutive time as he outlasted the German in over 2 and a half hours.
The defending champion will qualify for the last four if Hubert Hurkacz defeats Matteo Berrettini in the evening match.
It was the Russian who had the brightest start breaking Zverev with some supreme volleying to take a 2-0 lead.
The German’s service jitters cost him in that game as Medvedev continued to use his world-class defence to neutralise the Zverev attack.
Eventually Zverev did settle into the match, serving well and being aggressive especially in the forehand side.
Avoiding the double break gave him confidence as he continued to be within touching distance with Medvedev.
However it wasn’t enough as Medvedev’s unique offence mixed with accurate serving saw him comfortably take the opening set 6-3 in 38 minutes.
The Russian’s deep returning mixed with all-round impressive ground-strokes continued to put Zverev under pressure as the German was forced to save two break points to hold at the beginning of the second set.
Both players settled into a good serving rhythm in the second set with Medvedev looking the more confident player in general.
Medvedev’s continued consistency in serving, returning and angles caused Zverev all sorts of problems as the German once again faced break points.
However some much needed aces got him out of trouble as the second set was heading towards a tiebreak.
The course of the match changed on the third point of the tiebreak when on second serve a foot fault from Medvedev occurred. Despite a close VAR review, the call stood as Zverev took the edge.
Some more aces and big serving put the German in control as Medvedev was sarcastically applauding the crowd.
Another error from the Russian saw Zverev take the tiebreak 7-3 and saw him motivate the crowd as Medvedev fumed.
Both players regained their composure at the start of the third set as they settled into a consistent and fluid serving rhythm.
For the first four to five games both players held comfortably as first serves followed by effective patterns of play didn’t allow for any dangerous returns.
There were half-chances created in the middle of the set but both players managed to save them with clutch serving and good play at the net.
Zverev had a chance to serve for the match but Medvedev once again frustrated the German with good serving as the final set went to a tiebreak.
Despite getting the early advantage, some passive play saw Zverev pegged back as Medvedev wrestled back the advantage.
After failing to convert two match points at 6-4, Medvedev converted a third with a passing shot to outlast the German and seal a 2-0 Round Robin record.
Medvedev will play Matteo Berrettini on Thursday while Zverev takes on Hubert Hurkacz.
Should Hurkacz beat Berrettini in the evening match tonight then Medvedev will enter Thursday’s match as an already qualified semi-finalist.
