Taylor Fritz received an early Christmas present in the shape of $1M after defeating Daniil Medvedev in two close sets to win the Diriyah Tennis Cup in Saudi Arabia.
The world No.9 impressively saved all nine break points he faced against the former US Open champion to prevail 7-6(5), 7-6(3). Fritz also won 82% of his first service points during the final. The triumph followed his wins over Cameron Norrie and Hubert Hurkacz earlier in the tournament.
“Last time we played, he won. He told me I was the better player in the first set and it’s kind of reversed this time,” said Fritz, whose head-to-head record against Medvedev on the Tour stands at 0-1. “It was a really tough match. He was in control. He had all the chances. Every time he had a breakpoint, I played really well and always kind of came up with what I needed to. And then I played well in the tiebreakers and the big points so I was then able to steal it away from him.”
Whilst the event is only an exhibition with no ranking points up for grabs, the prize money on offer is among the highest in the sport with just a handful of tournaments offering more. To put Fritz’s $1M reward in perspective, on the ATP Tour the 25-year-old has earned just over $10M during his entire career.
Meanwhile, runner-up Medvedev will take home $500,000. The Russian won the inaugural tournament three years ago and Fritz is the first player to have beaten him in Saudi Arabia.
“It’s a great tournament. My second time and I feel very welcome coming here and I will be happy to come back many times,” said Medvedev. “It was a great atmosphere from the first match. Today was the biggest crowd I’ve seen here in the two years. Let’s hope next year for almost a fall stadium and, two years, a full stadium.”
In the doubles final, Hubert Hurkacz and Dominic Stricker beat Andrey Rublev and Matteo Berrettini 7-6(8), 3-6, 10-7.
Whilst the players appear to be happy with the event, it also has its critics with human rights organizations accusing Saudi Arabia of sportswashing. The process of staging sports events in a country to improve its image which has been tarnished by wrongdoing. Saudi Arabia has been criticized for its human rights record and press freedom.
