Daniil Medvedev produced a much more energised performance to defeat Alex De Minaur at the Nitto ATP Finals.
After a lacklustre performance against Taylor Fritz on Sunday, Daniil Medvedev refocused to defeat Alex De Minaur 6-2 6-4 at the Nitto ATP Finals.
It means Medvedev still has a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals while De Minaur is on the verge of elimination.
Medvedev produced some brutal shots in the early stages as he created break point in the opening game, exposing De Minaur at the net.
Despite not taking his first chance of the match, Medvedev remained persistent and consistent to break the Australian in the third game.
Just like most of their previous meetings, De Minaur had no way of hitting through Medvedev’s stubborn defence with the world number four counter-punching effectively.
The efficiency of Medvedev continued as he secured the double break with more punishing forehands as he had all the answers for De Minaur.
A 41 minute set was completed as De Minaur needed to think of a new strategy if he wanted to keep his semi-final hopes alive.
In the second set De Minaur was ruthless on serve and simplified his tactics as he neutralized Medvedev’s ability to hit deep shots.
There was more purpose to the Australian’s net play as he held in crucial service games to keep his hopes of winning this match alive.
However De Minaur created nothing on return and Medvedev would punish that with another break of serve for a 5-4 lead.
Three of four break points converted would be the key for Medvedev as he secured victory on his first match point before celebrating with his fingers in his ears.
A message of intent to the crowd after they booed his performance in the first match on Sunday albeit a brave move considering he plays world number one Jannik Sinner on Thursday.
After the match Medvedev gave his thoughts on a much better performance, “Last match wasn’t good in many ways. I decided I would go on this one and kind of not care, in a good way, where whatever happens happens,” Medvedev was quoted by The Tennis Letter as saying.
“If I lose today I probably go home on Thursday. It’s a good feeling, the seasons over. But if I win, I have a chance on Thursday. I have a chance to fight. I tried to keep it til the end because once I start winning, you start thinking ‘Ok, I can win this.’ I was like ‘no whatever, it doesn’t matter. Go for the shots and try to play your game.’ And I managed to do it til the end. Happy with the level. I’ll try to do the same the next match.”
Meanwhile De Minaur will play for a consolation win on Thursday when he takes on Taylor Fritz to complete his season.
