ATP Shanghai: Daniil Medvedev wins final against Alexander Zverev in the end smoothly
Daniil Medvedev won the Masters tournament in Shanghai. The 23-year-old from Russia beat Alexander Zverev 6: 4 and 6: 1 in the end.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Oct 13, 2019, 03:31 pm
Zverev got a complete false start. The service that carried him through the match against Matteo Berrettini in the semifinals did not come at the start. 0:40 it was right in the first service game of the Hamburg player, Medvedev breakt and pulled away to 3: 0. Until then, Zverev had only scored three points and found no opening at all in the Russian game.
But then it briefly subsided. There were five break chances for Zverev to make the 2: 3 connection, and although Medvedev defended partly courageously (serve and volley on the second serve) and partly with luck (net roller), he ultimately pulled a forehand - Zverev was again on. The end of the round was all the more bitter: the 22-year-old German had previously increased his quota to almost 70 percent, but at 30:30 he served two double faults in a row, the first in this sentence at all ...
Zverev leaves chance, Medvedev pulls away
The beginning of the second sentence was just as bitter: Zverev came straight to a break chance, but did not score. He then gave a 40: 0 from his own service, Medvedev came again to a 3: 0 and this time pulled away with a double break and 5: 0. Zverev still managed the honor game, then Medvedev served with an ace to win the tournament.
The match to read in the live ticker!
Medvedev celebrated his 25 victory in the last 27 matches, only Rafael Nadal was able to defeat him twice in this context. Most recently, Medvedev won in St. Petersburg and now in Shanghai, each without giving a sentence.
Zverev had won all four matches against Medvedev to date, but none of them had taken place in 2019, the mad season of the Moscow man who had reached his sixth consecutive final in Shanghai.
"Shanghai is one of the most prestigious Masters tournaments," said Medvedev about his second tournament success in the 1000 series. "It is incredible what I have achieved in the past few months. I work hard, of course I like to take it with me." Medvedev also pointed out that everyone had asked for something new, so he didn't cheer for victories. "I just stay calm, do my job - and zack, done."
Zverev in Shanghai: further buoyancy
Nevertheless, the tournament in Shanghai was a complete success for the world ranking sixth Zverev. After gala performances against Andrey Rublev and Roger Federer - against whom he had not used five match balls in the second set and then won in the third - he himself spoke of finally playing more aggressively as he should. In the semifinals against Matteo Berrettini, Zverev was strong, but the final against Medvedev made it clear that the arm was still trembling in decisive phases.
"Yesterday I said that you are probably the best player at the moment. It is incredible," Zverev congratulated at the end.
Medvedev, however, simply continues where he left off: the Shanghai final was his sixth final in a row, celebrating his third victory. And the fifth tournament success in the current season. In the ATP Race to London, the 2019 annual ranking, Medvedev will be in third place on Monday, ahead of Roger Federer. He remains fourth in the official ATP ranking.