2021 ATP Finals Torino RR: [2] Daniil Medvedev vs [3] Alexander Zverev

[aldeayeah]

Interesting to me how Medvedev is able to put Zverev in difficult defending positions in most of the rallies between them, not by making winners but just moving him around. Is Zverev even less offensive than Medvedev ? That's what I take from watching their matches

On a surface like this, Med likes to be more offensive.

 

[Deleted member 748597]

That was fun to be honest. Z made a match out of it and seriously threatened to snatch it completely.

Only because Med is no Roddick.

 

[Doctor/Lawyer Red Devil]

A doctor-like handwriting from Medvedev by the way. I had to check this place to find out what he wrote on the camera.

 

[ForehandCross]

Holy hell if I wasn't ready to facepalm when Z got ahead in TB. What really should have been an easy two set beatdown became such a tense match.

This loss will hurt Z even more.He is hopeless against med.

 

[Doctor/Lawyer Red Devil]

Only because Med is no Roddick.

Yeah, that guy could face all these clowns and go 8-0 in Torino.

 

[InsideOut900]

The more i watch matches between these two or Tsitsipas and even Rublev, i don't lose too much faith for the future of tennis. They will NEVER be as great as the Big 3/4 but the matches are entertaining and watchable and as a viewer, that's what i want. I don't care if they are famous or not, i just wanna watch good tennis.

I wish for a bit more star power with these guys, but yeah, I feel the same about their presence on the tour.

 

[Cortana]

Voted for Med in 3.

 

[Visionary]

Interesting to me how Medvedev is able to put Zverev in difficult defending positions in most of the rallies between them, not by making winners but just moving him around. Is Zverev even less offensive than Medvedev ? That's what I take from watching their matches

Zverev's demonstrated how delayed his reflex is; at some point, he couldn't even prepare to receive on time. Then, Sasha's shown how serious his network issue is. So, there isn't much of an offense the German can generate against Daniil.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Back to the perfume commercial drawing board.

 

[James P]

That was a really good match by both players. Medvedev flawless pretty much except the two breakers, a little lucky in the 3rd set one.

 

[UnforcedTerror]

What a great match!! It would've been a classic if it was a final.

Very high level from those two and Med is such a clutch beast. I think both will play for the trophy in a few days.

 

[The Fedfather]

Zverev was getting ahead by playing with more aggression, trying to dictate the rallies. Why does he then revert to passive play, I don't understand. Does he really think drawing UEs from freaking Medvedev is a winning strategy for him?

 

[RF-18]

Only because Med is no Roddick.

Med >> Roddick on HC

 

[Deleted member 779124]

Med >> Roddick on HC

Good bait

 

[Kralingen]

Med >> Roddick on HC

Well that goes without saying

 

[Poisoned Slice]

I saw Ole handing out water bottles during changeover. Good stuff.

Well done, Medvedev.

 

[Vamos Rafa Nadal]

Went to the gym and missed the third set - it was a wowzer, hope to see the rebroadcast of it! Glad Medvedev prevailed!

 

[marc45]

Went to the gym and missed the third set - it was a wowzer, hope to see the rebroadcast of it! Glad Medvedev prevailed!

sacrilege

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Ain't seen such excess since the last time I watched man of steel.

 

[The Big Foe fan]

Sascha zverev on how to miss sitters

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

Sounds like a great match. Credit to meddy for pulling out the win!

 

[Arak]

Zverev was getting ahead by playing with more aggression, trying to dictate the rallies. Why does he then revert to passive play, I don't understand. Does he really think drawing UEs from freaking Medvedev is a winning strategy for him?

You summed it up very well. He’s capable of hitting big on both sides but chooses not to. I feel sometimes he lacks the confidence in his shots.

 

[Nicklo22]

Danil forehand clicked in the tie break , that aggressive backhand return was the turn . Good match from both players , could have gone either way .

 

[Third Serve]

Seems like it was a good match, wish I could have seen it.

 

[mike danny]

Med >> Roddick on HC

Just about edges him, but that's it.

 

[James P]

Danny Boy has such low regard for Sascha, he practiced new 2nd serve S&V tactics just for funsies

 

[Third Serve]

Just about edges him, but that's it.

Let's see:

AO: I think Roddick had more high-level performances here (between the 2003, 2004, and 2005 editions of the tournament) but Med's run to the final in 2021 was pretty clean; however, that is his only notable run at the AO. Willing to call this a draw, but if Med throws in another final or even a victory, he might take the edge
IW: Roddick takes this on account of his 2005 and 2010 runs even if those didn't culminate in wins - Med hasn't really done anything at IW
Miami: Roddick by a good distance
Canada: Their achievements are virtually equal here, but I rate Roddick's 2003 win a bit more highly than anything Med has done there
Cincinnati: Med's win in 2019 was a bit better than Roddick's in 2003, but Roddick also has his 2006 title as well as another final so you'd have to favor him here
US Open: Med's win was quite clean (although Roddick put up a phenomenal display of tennis in the 2003 final); however, Roddick also has his 2006 and 2007 runs which were quite respectable and Med has his 2019 final which was pretty decent too (2020 SF was a bit of a mess); ultimately, this comes down to Roddick having three noteworthy runs so I'd give him the edge
Indoor Masters and the WTF: Med sweeps this pretty clearly I think

Med gets the WTF, two Masters, and possibly a Slam

Roddick gets a Slam, possibly another one, and four Masters

I think we should still put Roddick ahead, but Med has some years of his career left in him to make up the difference, especially if he can get in another good run at the AO.

 

[Steffi-forever]

Omg! I was working! I wish I would have seen this live

 

[aldeayeah]

Seems like it was a good match, wish I could have seen it.

TBH it was well en route to be a routine Med win but Sascha was unexpectedly resilient (and Med choked a bit in the 2nd)

 

[Tennisfan339]

Holy hell if I wasn't ready to facepalm when Z got ahead in TB. What really should have been an easy two set beatdown became such a tense match.

This loss will hurt Z even more.He is hopeless against med.

It shouldn't hurt him that much. 1) he is still very much in the tournament and has good chances to reach the semis... all he needs is to beat Hurkacz and he is through. 2) He has shown he has what it takes to beat the peak world #2 on his best surface. Compared to the last match in Paris or their Round Robin match last year, it's a huge improvement. And he can still do better... I have seen Zverev playing better than this, in the Olympics or Madrid for instance.

 

[zvelf]

Let's see:

AO: I think Roddick had more high-level performances here (between the 2003, 2004, and 2005 editions of the tournament) but Med's run to the final in 2021 was pretty clean; however, that is his only notable run at the AO. Willing to call this a draw, but if Med throws in another final or even a victory, he might take the edge
IW: Roddick takes this on account of his 2005 and 2010 runs even if those didn't culminate in wins - Med hasn't really done anything at IW
Miami: Roddick by a good distance
Canada: Their achievements are virtually equal here, but I rate Roddick's 2003 win a bit more highly than anything Med has done there
Cincinnati: Med's win in 2019 was a bit better than Roddick's in 2003, but Roddick also has his 2006 title as well as another final so you'd have to favor him here
US Open: Med's win was quite clean (although Roddick put up a phenomenal display of tennis in the 2003 final); however, Roddick also has his 2006 and 2007 runs which were quite respectable and Med has his 2019 final which was pretty decent too (2020 SF was a bit of a mess); ultimately, this comes down to Roddick having three noteworthy runs so I'd give him the edge
Indoor Masters and the WTF: Med sweeps this pretty clearly I think

Med gets the WTF, two Masters, and possibly a Slam

Roddick gets a Slam, possibly another one, and four Masters

I think we should still put Roddick ahead, but Med has some years of his career left in him to make up the difference, especially if he can get in another good run at the AO.

Medvedev has only played half a career and his hardcourt achievements are already close to Roddick's - that means that he's already proven he's the better hardcourt player. The only way to argue against is if Medvedev suffers total collapse the rest of his career.

 

[bjsnider]

Zverev was getting ahead by playing with more aggression, trying to dictate the rallies. Why does he then revert to passive play, I don't understand. Does he really think drawing UEs from freaking Medvedev is a winning strategy for him?

Bashing is outside his comfort zone, even though he can do it.

 

[Third Serve]

Medvedev has only played half a career and his hardcourt achievements are already close to Roddick's - that means that he's already proven he's the better hardcourt player. The only way to argue against is if Medvedev suffers total collapse the rest of his career.

While it's true, your statement is a bit misleading because Roddick had similar achievements at around Med's age (and for the first few years of his career, his achievements far surpassed Med's): he dropped off at around the same age Med is at right now. Have a look.

Medvedev at age 25 (now):
US Open win (2021), final (2019) and SF (2020)
AO final (2021)
WTF win (2020)
Canada Masters win (2021) and final (2019)
Shanghai Masters win (2019)
Cincinnati Masters win (2019)
Paris Masters win (2020) and final (2021)

Roddick at age 25 (up till end of 2007):
US Open win (2003), final (2006), and it's certainly worth pointing out his 2007 run even if it was a QF
AO SF (2003, 2005, and 2007)
Miami Masters win (2004)
Canada Masters win (2003) and final (2002 and 2004)
Cincinnati Masters win (2003 and 2006) and final (2005)

As you can see, even if we compare them at the same age, they're pretty neck-and-neck so making the "he only played half the career" argument is misleading IMO.

We'll have to see if Med drops off like Roddick did (I assume he won't because he's not being coached by Dean Goldfine).

 

[BeatlesFan]

Zverev sampras level big serve

The difference is that Pete hit the lines with his 140 MPH first serves and his 125 MPH second serves.

Zverev does neither.

 

[Picmun]

Went to the gym and missed the third set - it was a wowzer, hope to see the rebroadcast of it! Glad Medvedev prevailed!

I missed the match, because I was helping old ladies cross the road and rescuing kittens from trees ....

 

[Sampras-Bruguera 1993]

Death, taxes, Zverev choking. All guarantees in life

 

[Gazelle]

He has losing h2h vs Djokovic Nadal Thiem Medvedev And Tsitsipas. Probably vs Federer as well.

Ye, weird player. Lots of losses against top players, but when he beats them he usually wins a big tournament. Good timing.

 

[Gazelle]

Ye, weird player. Lots of losses against top players, but when he beats them he usually wins a big tournament. Good timing.

If he ever beats a top 10 in a slam, he'll win the whole tournament.

 

[Visionary]

delete

 

[Visionary]

Why does he then revert to passive play, I don't understand.

inadequate network capabilities (Zverev)