Rafa4GOAT
Professional
The 22-year-old Russian qualifier Daniil Medvedev has won his third and biggest ATP title after a thrilling 6-2 6-4 win over a former champion and the 3rd seed Kei Nishikori in 63 minutes. Just like against Milos Raonic and Denis Shapovalov, Daniil was the dominant figure once again, dominating with his serve and groundstrokes to leave the home favorite far behind and secure his first ATP 500 crown that propels him into the Top 30 for the first time in a career.
Nishikori was hoping to win the first title since Memphis 2016 but this was his eighth straight ATP final loss, unable to challenge the rival who did just about everything right on the court to secure the win in just over an hour.
Kei won their previous match in Monte Carlo this spring but he stood no chance against the Russian on the fast indoor court, winning five points on the return and creating one break point in the entire encounter. Daniil saved it in the opening game of the match and he never looked back in his games, rattling off eight straight service games and losing two points in total in those to keep the pressure on the other side of the net all the time.
Nishikori struggled a lot on his second serve and he lost 43% of the points in his games, facing five break points and getting broken three times, having to settle with the runner-up prize. Medvedev had 15 winners and just seven unforced errors and the Japanese was miles off that pace, hitting 10 winners but almost 30 unforced errors, spraying mistakes from both wings and having no clue how to move Medvedev from the comfort zone.
Daniil repelled a break point in the first game with a service winner, closing the game after two errors from Kei to settle into a nice rhythm and gain the confidence before the rest of the set. Nishikori missed a backhand down the line in the fourth game to lose serve at love and Medvedev fired four winners in the following game to move 4-1 up.
A former champion was powerless on the return and he gave the serve away one more time at 2-5, handing the set to his rival after just 25 minutes. The second set was more competitive and Nishikori saved a break point in game four when he forced an error from Medvedev to stay on the positive side of the scoreboard.
Daniil held at love with two winners in game nine and he scored a crucial break in the 10th game when Kei sent a forehand wide, celebrating his third title of the season and a career-high ranking when the new ATP list comes on Monday.
Final result: [Q]Daniil Medvedev (RUS) vs [3]Kei Nishikori (JPN) 6-2 6-4
Nishikori was hoping to win the first title since Memphis 2016 but this was his eighth straight ATP final loss, unable to challenge the rival who did just about everything right on the court to secure the win in just over an hour.
Kei won their previous match in Monte Carlo this spring but he stood no chance against the Russian on the fast indoor court, winning five points on the return and creating one break point in the entire encounter. Daniil saved it in the opening game of the match and he never looked back in his games, rattling off eight straight service games and losing two points in total in those to keep the pressure on the other side of the net all the time.
Nishikori struggled a lot on his second serve and he lost 43% of the points in his games, facing five break points and getting broken three times, having to settle with the runner-up prize. Medvedev had 15 winners and just seven unforced errors and the Japanese was miles off that pace, hitting 10 winners but almost 30 unforced errors, spraying mistakes from both wings and having no clue how to move Medvedev from the comfort zone.
Daniil repelled a break point in the first game with a service winner, closing the game after two errors from Kei to settle into a nice rhythm and gain the confidence before the rest of the set. Nishikori missed a backhand down the line in the fourth game to lose serve at love and Medvedev fired four winners in the following game to move 4-1 up.
A former champion was powerless on the return and he gave the serve away one more time at 2-5, handing the set to his rival after just 25 minutes. The second set was more competitive and Nishikori saved a break point in game four when he forced an error from Medvedev to stay on the positive side of the scoreboard.
Daniil held at love with two winners in game nine and he scored a crucial break in the 10th game when Kei sent a forehand wide, celebrating his third title of the season and a career-high ranking when the new ATP list comes on Monday.
Final result: [Q]Daniil Medvedev (RUS) vs [3]Kei Nishikori (JPN) 6-2 6-4
