Hey there, fellow tennis enthusiasts It’s your girl Mia Johnson-Carter here, living the dream in Miami. Today, we’ve got some exciting news straight from the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. Let’s dive into what’s been happening on the court.
First off, a big congratulations to former ATP Finals champion Daniil Medvedev, who scored his first victory this year in Turin. He took on Alex de Minaur in the second round-robin clash and emerged victorious with a 6-2, 6-4 win in just an hour and 18 minutes[1].
Medvedev played much better than his previous match against Taylor Fritz, beating him for the seventh time in ten duels and keeping himself in contention for a place in the semi-finals. Here are some key points from his impressive performance:
- Dominant Serving: Medvedev delivered two breaks in the opening set and clinched the final three games of the second set. He presented one of his strongest serving performances of the season, dropping only nine points in nine service games and facing no break points.
- De Minaur’s Struggles: De Minaur felt the pressure and cracked under it, struggling behind the first serve and dropping 40% of the points in his games. He played against four break points and suffered three breaks.
- Winner vs. Unforced Errors: Medvedev landed 24 winners and 18 unforced errors, taming his strokes nicely and leaving his opponent on a 10-15 ratio. Despite hitting a couple of service winners more than his opponent, de Minaur struggled from the baseline big time, claiming half of Daniil’s points!
The opening set saw deuces in four games, with both rivals battling 40 minutes to complete eight games. De Minaur saved a break point in the first game before experiencing a break two games later after Medvedev’s backhand winner at the net. The Russian held to confirm the advantage and made another push on the return at 3-1. De Minaur wasted three game points and suffered the second straight break after a double fault. Medvedev served for the opener at 5-2 and held at 15 after de Minaur’s wayward forehand, wrapping up the first part of the duel in 40 minutes[1].
In the second set, both players served well in the opening eight games, keeping each other away from break chances. Medvedev held at love in the eighth game, locking in the result at 4-4 and making a push on the return in the next one. He painted a forehand down the line winner at 15-30 and drew de Minaur’s mistake for a break chance. He converted it with a backhand down the line winner, opening up a 5-4 advantage and sealing the deal with a forced error in game ten[1].
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