Stefanos Tsitsipas is a win away from sealing his place in the semi-finals of the ATP Finals after overcoming Daniil Medvedev in a turbulent encounter at the Pala Alpitour on Thursday evening.
The world No.3 failed to convert a trio of match points in the second set and was three points away from being beaten in the third before battling back to secure a roller-coaster 6-3, 6-7(11), 7-6(1), win. Tsitsipas’ victory means that former champion Medvedev can’t progress beyond the group stages regardless of how he performs in his latest match. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic has won the group following his second straight-sets win earlier in the day over Andrey Rublev.
“It was a pure roller-coaster, a lot of things happened,” Tsitsipas said during his on-court interview.
“I was playing good and then he (Medvedev) raised his level early from the second set all the way to the third. I felt like he was very consistent with his placement and I hung in there.’
The head-to-head record between the two players arguably paints a misleading picture. Heading into their Turin clash, Medvedev boasted a healthy 7-3 winning record over the Greek. However, he has only won two out of their five more recent meetings on the Tour.
Tsitsipas continued to illustrate his recent dominance in their rivalry with an impressive start to their latest encounter at the ATP Finals. Coming to the net regularly to force his rival to make quick decisions, he broke the Medvedev serve on his first attempt. Back-to-back unforced errors from the Russian enabled Tsitsipas to race to a 3-0 lead. In control of proceedings and dropping just six points behind his serve, he sealed the first set with a love service game. Prompting a frustrated Medvedev to shrug and look towards his team in the crowd during the changeover.
The cat-and-mouse chase continued into the second frame but this time there was little to distinguish between both players. 12 games went by without a single break point occurring. An animated Medvedev wasn’t afraid to show his emotions which was best illustrated when he was ahead 6-5, 30-30. A missed forehand return from him cost him the chance of getting a set point, prompting the former US Open champion to make a sarcastic remark towards his coach Gilles Cervara.
Then in a rollercoaster 23-point tiebreaker, neither player refused to back down with continuous changes of momentum occurring. Medvedev raced to a 4-1 lead before a series of unforced errors allowed Tsitsipas to draw level. He then saved a trio of match points but failed to convert three set points en route to a 12-11 lead. Medvedev finally prevailed with an overhead smash to take the match into what was a bizarre decider.
“These are difficult moments. Sometimes you don’t have control over those moments,” Tsitsipas commented on dropping the second set.
“I don’t have any regrets about what I did. I tried my best and I fought. I missed a few (shots) but it was a very close moment. Things like this happen in tennis and you have to be strong and forget about the past.” He added.
Medvedev moved to a game away from victory after a series of errors from his tiring opponent enabled him to break en route for a 5-3 lead. Serving for the win and the chance to stay in the competition, he produced an error-stricken display which cost him dearly as Tsitsipas clawed his way back to level once again.
The Greek resilience is what got him over the finish line as he raced through the decisive tiebreaker as Medvedev unexpectedly imploded on the court. After winning six out of seven points played, he closed out the match after a Medvedev forehand drifted out.
‘In the game (when Medvedev was ahead 5-3), I tried something else, and it worked in my favour. I was able to hit a few returns and that gave me a great feel of what I could achieve in the next couple of games.” said Tsitsipas.
“I felt more confident in that tiebreaker than in the one before. I played so bravely towards the end.”
Tsitsipas will next take on Rublev on Friday with the winner of that match joining Djokovic in the semi-finals. He leads the Russian 6-4 in their head-to-head.
“I was to try and fight as much as I can to show what my tennis is capable of. It’s going to be difficult against him and I need to be well-rested.” Tsitsipas concluded.
