Daniil Medvedev was the first to reach the semifinals of the final Nitto ATP Finals tournament

In the final match of the second round of the group stage of the Nitto ATP Finals, the final tournament of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) with a prize fund of $15 million, which continues in Turin, Russian Daniil Medvedev beat Alexander Zverev from Germany in two sets. This success allowed him to be the first to guarantee his place in the semi-finals. Kommersant correspondent Evgeny Fedyakov watched the game at the Pala Alpitour arena.

The situation in the Red Group has become somewhat simpler ahead of Wednesday’s second match at the Nitto ATP Finals. It was clear that a victory over Alexander Zverev in two games automatically made Daniil Medvedev a semi-finalist. Zverev, in turn, needed to beat the Russian with any score to reach the playoffs, since Carlos Alcaraz had previously beaten Andrei Rublev.

Medvedev won personal meetings with Zverev – 10:7, and at the Nitto ATP Finals their balance was a draw – 2:2. Two years ago in Turin, the Russian first beat the German tennis player in the group stage, and then lost to him in the final. As for this year, they played each other for the sixth time, and on the previous four occasions Medvedev was stronger. But this, of course, did not guarantee him anything. Zverev’s victory over Alcaraz in the first round demonstrated that the two-time winner of the final tournament is determined to give battle to both favorites of the Red Group.

The match began with a break on Zverev’s serve. But by and large there was nothing terrible about this, and in the middle of the first game the score was level. In principle, Medvedev did not have any advantage in those minutes. Zverev not only served consistently, but was also dangerous on the baseline, leaving behind a rally of 24 shots, and also acted clearly at the net. Moreover, it was he who had the opening of the most stubborn tiebreaker. Zverev was leading 4:1 when he made a mistake on his smash and then had two set points, including one on his own serve. Then Medvedev admits that the tiebreaker was not without luck. Although it wasn’t just a matter of luck. It has long been known that at decisive moments Zverev sometimes loses his inner calm, and with it the thread of his game.

In the second set, the most interesting things happened at the very end. In the ninth game, Medvedev fought back a break point, and then Zverev, apparently upset over the missed chance, again failed to cope with the psychological pressure. A striking illustration of this was the first play of the tenth game. Medvedev threw Zverev with a candle, and he, having taken the wrong position in the center of the court, performed a reverse very poorly – a shot in which a tennis player hits the ball with his back to the net. Having earned the first match point with an excellent signature dribble, Medvedev immediately put the finishing touches on his opponent. As a result – 7:6 (9:7), 6:4 in 1 hour 45 minutes.

“The fact that Sasha and I meet very often, in a sense, helps and hinders both of us equally. Lately, Sasha has been losing to me more often, so he is trying to change something in his tactics. I try to see it, I think how I can resist it. For example, it happens that one of us suddenly has a very good ball on the right. In general, the matches turn out to be equal, to be honest, we often play tiebreakers, win back not only set points, but also match points. And I’m glad that now I manage to win them more often,” Medvedev told a Kommersant correspondent.

On Friday afternoon, Medvedev will play Carlos Alcaraz, and in the evening Zverev will meet Andrey Rublev. But regardless of these results, Medvedev became the first semi-finalist of the tournament. True, he is not yet guaranteed first place in the group. It could theoretically go to the Spaniard, but not to Zverev, who, in the most successful scenario for himself, can now finish second in the group.