Defending champion Daniil Medvedev clinched his place in the last four of the ATP Finals after beating 2018 champ Alexander Zverev on Tuesday to make it two wins out of two in Turin.
Medvedev, who won the US Open in September for his first Grand Slam title, took just over 2 1/2 hours to beat Zverev 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6) and move level with the German on a tour-leading 56 wins after a tense tiebreaker in the decisive set.
“Definitely one of the matches to remember,” Medvedev said. “When you win 8-6 in the tiebreak in the third, it was 4-2 for him so I was like OK, he serves a few aces it’s done. I made it 6-4 and I was like OK, that’s my moment now. It’s back to 6-6 … Just an amazing feeling. Not actually much to say about the match, just amazing.”
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Medvedev leads Red Group and was assured of his place in the final four after local favorite Matteo Berrettini pulled out of the tournament.
Berrettini retired against Zverev on Sunday with an abdominal injury and although he trained Tuesday he could not recover in time and was replaced by first alternate Jannik Sinner, another Italian.
Sinner’s first match will be against first-time qualifier Hubert Hurkacz later Tuesday.
Helped by fast conditions inside the Pala Alpitour, Medvedev served 14 aces and Zverev 18.
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Medvedev was in a fight from the start, fending off three break points in his opening two service games but also breaking Zverev to take a 3-0 lead. The world No. 2 went on to win the opening set with a delightful backhand down the line.
Victory looked in good time in the second set as Medvedev dropped only two points in his first five service games. But Zverev held on and saved three break points to force the tiebreaker which the German won.
In the deciding set, Medvedev had to save a break point to prevent Zverev from serving for the match, and he won the tiebreaker on his third match point when Zverev netted a backhand.