Danil Medvedev beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 7-6 (8-6) to reach the final at the Erste Bank Open at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna.
Medvedev committed just ten unforced errors and saved all three break points he faced. The Russian player has advanced to the 36th tour-level final of his career and ninth of his season.
Medvedev hit 22 winners to Tsitsipas’ 29 and won 84% of his first serve points.
Tsitsipas did not convert two break points in the fourth game that would have given him a 3-1 lead. Medvedev broke serve in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead. The world number 3 player served it out 6-4 on his first set point in the 10th game.
Tsitsipas fended off three break points in the second set that went on serve en route to the tie-break. Medvedev earned his first mini-break to take a 5-3 lead. Tsitsipas pulled back to draw level to 5-5. Medeved earned a second mini-break and closed out the tie-break 8-6 when Tsitsipas hit his forehand wide. Medvedev clinched his 64th match win of the season.
Medvedev has improved to 9-4 in his head-to-head matches. He has recorded the most victories on the ATP Tour this year. He is bidding to win his sixth title this season and his third trophy in a hard-court tournament.
“I served well throughout the whole match. In general I am happy with how I served and put pressure on him on a lot of points. I had a lot of opportunities and he played well on them. Generally, this pressure paid off the end of the match”, said Medvedev.
