Daniel Medvedev says he is playing ‘better and better’ following his dominating semifinal win over John Isner at the National Bank Open on Saturday.
The world No.2 spent less than an hour on court as he swept aside his American rival 6-2, 6-2, with relative ease. Isner, who was playing in his 18th Masters 1000 quarter-final, was far from his best as he struggled behind serve. Hitting just four aces and winning only 17% of his second service points. The lull in form played in Medvedev’s hands who dictated the majority of the match by hitting 20 winners against seven unforced errors.
“I’m really happy with the win. I had very few unforced errors. I’m pleased with my game in this moment,” said Medvedev.
“I feel I’m playing better and better leading to the US Open.”
Medvedev has dropped just two sets in four matches played en route to Sunday’s final in Toronto. That was against Alexander Bublik in the second round and Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals. He also defeated James Duckworth earlier in the week.
The surge in form serves as a confidence boost for the Russian ahead of the US Open which will get underway at the end of this month. It was at that Grand Slam where he reached his first-ever major final back in 2019 when he lost to Rafael Nadal in five sets. However, at the moment Medvedev says he is solely focused on his run in Canada.
“Of course I think about US Open in a way, but I’m still, I feel like I’m still young, still feeling good physically, don’t have any, let’s call it like this, chronic problems or issues with my body,” he said. “So I know that I play good when I’m in shape and I’m winning matches.
“So I think the best preparation for me coming to US Open is try to win as many matches as possible but of course not playing the week before the Open itself. That’s the only thing I’m thinking about right now. So the first thing is to try to win the match tomorrow.”
Next up for the 25-year-old is a showdown with underdog Reilly Opelka who stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals. It is only the third time Opelka has reached the final of an ATP event and the first time he has done so at a Masters 1000 tournament. Prior to Tsitsipas, he also knocked out seeds Diego Schwartzman and Roberto Bautista Agut.
“He’s been playing great tennis all week,” Medvedev said of his upcoming opponent. “Big credit to him.“But a masters final is never easy; I’ll try to play well and hope to be holding the trophy.”
Medvedev is bidding to win the fourth Masters 1000 title of his career this week.
