Daniil Medvedev beats Novak Djokovic and is in the Cincinnati final
Daniil Medvedev sensationally reached the final of the ATP Masters 1000 from Cincinnati on Saturday evening. The Russian prevailed against world number one Novak Djokovic 3: 6, 6: 3, 6: 3.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Aug 18, 2019, 07:43 am
Medvedev, currently number 8 in the world rankings, will meet the Belgian David Goffin , who is number 16, in the final on Sunday (from 10 p.m. CEST), who previously smoothed out the Frenchman Richard Gasquet with 6: 3 and 6: 4 in his semi-final .
Medvedev was 3: 6, 2: 3 and 30-40 behind before he stopped a breakball for Djokovic and played himself into a frenzy. With risky second serves and a total of 16 aces, he prevailed after an hour and 43 minutes.
"To be honest, I don't know how I did it," said Medvedev after the game. "I was so tired in the first set. I couldn't keep up with Novak's intensity. But then there was a rally that made the momentum topple. The spectators gave me a lot of energy."
When asked about his second serves, he said, "Novak destroyed me in the first set. I usually just take more chances if my second one doesn't work. I told myself that if I continued to hit those second serves I would lose. "
Medvedev is in its third consecutive ATP Tour final. After losing to Nick Kyrgios in the Washington final, he lost to Rafael Nadal in Montreal last Sunday. "This time I just have to win," said Medvedev with a wink.
Against Djokovic, he posted his 43rd win on the tour in 2019. No other professional won so many matches. With 30 wins on hard courts, he is ten match successes ahead of the second placed Roberto Bautista Agut and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Now Medvedev is the first Russian ever in the Cincinnati final.