Daniil Medvedev has become the first player at this year’s ATP Finals tournament to secure a place in the semi-finals after beating Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
Medvedev, who won the season-ending event in 2020, battled to a 7-6(7), 6-4, win over Zverev in what was a tense encounter at the Pala Alpitour in Turin. The triumph comes two days after his comprehensive win over Andrey Rublev in his opening match. As a result, the Russian has the luxury of playing his third round-robin match on Friday knowing that he will play in the last four regardless of the outcome of that clash.
The 26-year-old fired four aces and 16 winners past Zverev who is also a former winner at the ATP Finals after claiming the title twice in 2018 and 2021. He has now won 66 matches so far this season with 49 of those victories being on a hardcourt.
“Both matches were tight. I guess, the second set against Andrey was the easiest one of all of them,” said Medvedev.
“I’m generally happy with my level and I am already looking forward to the semis.”
In Medvedev’s sixth meeting with Zverev on the Tour this year and 18th overall, little separated both players throughout a tense 62-minute opening set. Medvedev was the first to draw blood by breaking immediately at the start before a drop in his level a few games later opened the door for his rival to battle back midway through the set. Then in the tiebreaker, Zverev had a series of golden opportunities to take a stronghold but failed to do so. The German missed a backhand at the net which would have moved him to a 5-1 lead if he had won the point. He then had a set point after a Medvedev smash landed out but failed to capitalise on his chance after hitting a poor forehand shot into the net. Zverev went on to lose the tiebreak after hitting back-to-back errors.
Coming into this week, Medvedev has not lost a hardcourt match this year after taking the first set and had never done so to the world No.8 in his entire career. Aiming to continue that perfect record, he faced more tests closing out the match. At 4-4 in the second frame, he fended off a break point against a growing frustrated Zverev who let out a roar after hitting another error. Then in the next game, Medvedev broke to secure the win with the help of yet another error from across the court.
“I felt like I started very well. Hitting good shots, and playing well. I felt that he was a little bit off so I thought let’s try and go for the double break on this fast court. Then he started to play a little bit better and returning better. I then started to play worse for 5-10 minutes. It can happen but I’m happy that I managed to regroup,” Medvedev evaluated of his latest performance.
“It was a good match. It is not easy to put this ball on the court when the guy hits a good shot (due to the speed of the surface). I’m happy that I was more crucial at the end of the sets.” He added.
It is the third time in Medvedev’s career that he has reached the semi-final stage at the ATP Finals. He will play Carlos Alcaraz in his final round-robin match whilst Zverev takes on Rublev.
Who from the Red Group will join Medvedev in the semi-finals?
– Medvedev has qualified with a game in hand
– Alcaraz will qualify by beating Medvedev on Friday, but can also qualify with a loss if Rublev beats Zverev
– Zverev can only qualify by beating Rublev and hoping that Medvedev beats Alcaraz
– Rublev can’t qualify