Third seed Daniil Medvedev stays perfect to secure his spot at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals last four by toppling World No. 7 Alexander Zverev in straight sets on Wednesday evening in Turin.
The fourth Red Group singles round-robin match at the Nitto ATP Finals saw World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev prevail over two-time winner Alexander Zverev, notching a 7-6(7), 6-4 victory after one hour and 45 minutes.
Following his triumph, the former US Open champion became the first player to punch a ticket into the semifinals on Wednesday evening at the Pala Alpitour.
The contest, which marked their 18th meeting at tour level consolidated the 2020 champion’s flawless campaign, recording his second straight-set win at the year-end event – launched his campaign by knocking out fifth seed Andrey Rublev.
In his on-court interview, the 20-time ATP titlist outlined: “It was a very tough match mentally. I started very well, I was playing well. He was kind of not there yet, but at one moment, he stepped up his game, and at this moment, for whatever reason, I started playing a little bit worse for a short period of time.”
Adding: “I’m happy that I managed to regroup and play better at the end of the first set. The end of both sets was very tight… In the tiebreak, he had set point on his serve.”
“I’m happy because, this year, I might have lost some matches like this. I’m happy to be able to win.”
Fine margins separated the players throughout the opening set, which eventually unfolded into a dramatic tiebreak that Medvedev took 7-6(7) in 62 minutes, saving two set points and bouncing back from 1-4 in the tiebreaker.
Zverev fell behind an early break but regrouped, adding pressure on his opponent to convert his first breakpoint in the sixth game, recovering lost ground to set level 3-3.
However, the Moscow native showcased a combination of depth and consistency, which helped him edge the German, who could not find his usual rhythm behind his serve.
The third seed won 80 percent of his first-serve points, hitting nine winners to 11 unforced errors compared to Zverev’s 13 and 13, respectively.
The 27-year-old displayed a clean-hitting performance from the baseline throughout the match, building momentum into the second set while continuing to play aggressively on his serve – won 78 percent of the points behind his first serve delivery, firing 26 winners across the encounter.
Medvedev fended off a breakpoint in the ninth game to hold 5-4, moving forward to earn a pivotal break in the 10th game, closing out 6-4 in 42 minutes.
Meanwhile, Zverev, 26, launched his campaign with a 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4 victory over second seed Carlos Alcaraz on Monday.
Next, the seventh seed has to defeat Rublev to keep his chances alive at the tournament.
Alcaraz, who earlier on Wednesday delivered some of his best tennis in a while to overcome Rublev 7-5, 6-2, recording his maiden triumph at the year-end championships, also has chances to qualify. The 20-year-old Spaniard will face Medvedev on Friday.
Talking about the Wimbledon champion, he stressed: “I saw his match today against Andrey, and he played much better than in the first match.
“He was missing less, doing amazing winners from far out like he can. I hope that I feel good tomorrow and I’m ready to fight. This tournament is tricky because I’m into the semis, but you want to keep the rhythm.”