ATP Finals: Daniil Medvedev - A fitting end to a mixed season
With his defeat against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Wednesday evening at the ATP Finals in Turin, Daniil Medvedev no longer has a chance of reaching the semifinals. This marks the end of a mostly disappointing season for the Russian.
by tennisnet.com
last edit:
Nov 17, 2022, 08:41 am
Perhaps the fate of Daniil Medvedev's tennis year was already decided at the end of January, more precisely on January 30th, 2022. On that day, the Russian played his second consecutive Australian Open final. Unlike 2021, when Medvedev had no chance against Novak Djokovic, this time it looked very much as if he would celebrate his second consecutive Grand Slam title. Medvedev had won the first two sets against Rafael Nadal, and in the third chance to present a decisive break. It turned out differently, Nadal turned out to be a comeback artist. And Daniil Medvedev did not recover from the shock of Melbourne.
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Ultimately, the season, which ends for the 26-year-old on Friday with the meaningless match against Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals in Turin, brought only two highlights in addition to the tournament victories in Los Cabos and Vienna: For the first time in his career he made it Medvedev to the top of the ATP charts. And a few weeks ago, the Muscovite, who lives in Monte Carlo, became a father for the first time.
Medvedev loses against two favorite opponents
In the world rankings, Medvedev could fall back to ninth place after his defeats against Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, depending on the further course of the tournament. Which does not meet Medvedev's high standards. He finally showed his amazing resilience again in Turin: He should have lost the first round against Rublev, but was able to fend off six set balls from his compatriot. Against Tsitsipas in the second act there were even three match points from his opponent that Medvedev was able to parry.
However: Both games were lost in the tie-break of the third set. And that against two opponents that Medvedev had had quite well under control so far. Which doesn't bode well for future duels.
And so Daniil Medvedev will start his vacation earlier than planned at the end of the week, the return to the tennis court is planned at an exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia. After that, Medvedev has to get in shape with a few preparatory tournaments for the Australian Open, and the Russian team is excluded from the United Cup. But who knows: maybe the first major of 2023 will be in the spirit of Medvedev, who feels more comfortable in the role of the hunter than the hunted. Then a return to old strength is possible.
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