The final draw of the Masters series tournament in Cincinnati for Russian tennis players was the most successful in the history of its holding. Previously, there has never been a case when representatives of Russia reached the finals in both the men's and women's singles. In 2019, Daniil Medvedev and Svetlana Kuznetsova managed to do this.
And if Kuznetsova’s entry into the finals can be called a real sensation, then Medvedev has recently managed to accustom his fans to the fact that he does not complete his performances in the early stages. Over the past three weeks, he has reached the decisive matches of the competition three times, during the tournaments in Washington and Montreal, defeating such stars as Marine Chilich, Karen Khachanov and Dominic Tim. True, he failed to win the trophy twice. First, Nick Kiryos stood in his way, and then Rafael Nadal.
In Cincinnati, Medvedev once again demonstrated that he is now one of the main experts in the game of hard, and confidently went through the tournament bracket. Only once he had to spend three sets on the court - and then in a battle with the first racket of the planet Novak Djokovic. The victory over the Serb allowed Daniel not only to take his 13th match from the last 15, but also to strengthen his leadership in the number of meetings won in the season. To his second consecutive final of the Masters 1000 competition, he came up with 43 victories in the asset, which is two more than the former leader Rafael Nadal.
Compared to the Montreal tournament, Medvedev’s rival in the decisive match in Cincinnati was far less formidable. On the other half of the court was David Goffen, for whom 2019 is not going well. The Belgian performs very unevenly and only once managed to reach the final of the ATP championship. This happened in mid-June in the German Hull, but Goffen did not succeed in raising the trophy over his head. On his way stood Roger Federer, who won that final with a score of 7: 6, 6: 1.
These failures led to the fact that the finalist of the final ATP-2017 tournament fell out of the top 10 of the world ranking and approached the last match of the championship in Cincinnati in the rank of the 19th racket of the world. Success in the United States could bring him a thousand points and restore the athlete to the status of one of the ten strongest tennis players in the world.
Medvedev, on the other hand, solved tasks of a different level. A week ago, defeating Khachanov in the first ever Russian semi-final of the Masters series, he won the title of Russia's first racket, and in Cincinnati he consolidated his position. Now he had a chance to break into the top 5 of the general classification of ATP and secure a more comfortable grid for the upcoming US Open. In the event of a victory over Hoffen, Daniel bypassed Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and Kei Nishikori, taking the place after the fourth racket of the planet Tim.
As for the confrontation, before the last match, Medvedev and Goffen met twice, and both times in the 1/16 final of the “majors” of 2019. This happened for the first time at the Australian Open, where Daniel confirmed his status as one of the main experts in the game on hard surfacing. The Russian in three sets dealt with the Belgian, and only the second of them ended in a stubborn fight in a tie-break. David took revenge on Wimbledon - however, there the tennis players had to spend all five games on the court.
In Cincinnati, despite Medvedev's advantage in hard, the first set turned out to be extremely stressful. The Russian looked much more confident on his serve, taking two games at zero, and then made the first break. The Belgian acted second number, which was quite a Russian. The sweeping combination with the line transfer ended in Hoffen's mistake.
However, a native of Moscow could not immediately develop success. His opponent quickly recovered and made every effort not to miss the set. Goffen began to act more diverse, and Medvedev became a little nervous. Submitting with a score of 4: 2, he made a double mistake and was not convincing enough in three more draws. After a successful start to the game, he lost four points in a row.
A few minutes later, the Russian had every chance to go to the set, but could not realize two break points. As a result, the winner of the party decided on a tie-break, where luck was on the side of Medvedev. He won all five draws on Goffen's pitch and for the first time in his career led the score in the final of the Masters series tournament.
This local failure hacked Goffen so much that he was never able to recover. The Belgian on the move allowed to make a break, and at the reception was almost powerless. In the next four games on Medvedev's pitch, he did not win a single draw and allowed the Russian to go out to apply for the championship.
As befits the finale, the decisive game turned out to be as exciting and intense as possible. Medvedev again made his fans worry and lost the first three of four draws, giving Goffen a double break point. But at the right moment, his brilliant serve returned to him, which became the key to success. Daniel took four points in a row (three of them with Aces) and became the first Russian triumph of the tournament in Cincinnati, and at the same time the youngest winner of these competitions over the past 11 years.
Thus, Medvedev climbed to fifth place in the ATP ranking, consolidated leadership in the number of victories in the year and repeated the achievement of Nikolai Davydenko nine years ago. In 2009, he was the last Russian tennis player who was among the five strongest athletes on the planet.
Unfortunately, Kuznetsova could not make the company to her compatriot. During the tournament in Cincinnati, she surprised everyone by beating two representatives of the top 3 WTA rankings in the person of Carolina Plishkova and Ashley Barty, as well as Sloan Stevens and Anastasia Sevastova. The hostess of the courts, Madison Keyes, who won the final match in two sets, became a stumbling block for Svetlana.
It is especially disappointing that Kuznetsova not only led in both games, but also twice submitted to the set, but both times she could not achieve success. At key moments, Keyes was more precise, thanks to which she prevailed in a tense battle.
For Kuznetsova, this defeat was the fifth in a row in the finals of major championships. Previously, she lost in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Dubai. The last time she won the title was at the Premier class in 2009 in Beijing.
However, the Russian woman should not be upset. Her return to the courts turned out to be more than triumphant and encouraging. This success will allow Svetlana not only gain confidence, but also make a breakthrough by almost 100 positions up in the WTA ranking. At the moment she takes the 153rd line with 411 points, and for reaching the final of a major tournament will receive 585 points.