Best result of the season and fourth place in the ranking: Medvedev reached the final of Masters in Paris

Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev reached the final of the Masters held in Paris.

For the first time this season, a 24-year-old will fight for a title in an ATP tournament.

Shortly before that, he secured a return to fourth place in the world rankings, beating the Swiss Roger Federer.

This year has not been as successful for Medvedev as the previous one.

Although after a break due to the coronavirus pandemic, he made it to the semifinals of the US Open, he did not achieve other significant successes in the summer and fall.

The subsequent tournament in Hamburg ended with a knockout in the first round, as did Roland Garros, where Medvedev had never won a single match in his entire career.

The performances in St. Petersburg and Vienna were also not outstanding.

Medvedev, who dropped to sixth in the rankings, won only three matches in two tournaments.

The only positive event during all this time for the Russian was getting to the Final Tournament of the Year, where Andrei Rublev also made his way.

Finally, at the tournament in Paris, Medvedev was able to please his fans and remind them that he is still one of the strongest tennis players in the world.

With the third seeded, the Russian immediately passed South African Kevin Anderson, who refused to fight in the first set tie-break, and won a strong-willed victory over Australian Alex de Minor.

In the quarterfinals, the tournament grid brought Medvedev together with Argentine Diego Schwartzman.

For the Russian, this was a difficult opponent from a psychological point of view.

At the beginning of the year, there was a conflict between them at the ATP Cup tournament.

Dissatisfied with his game, Medvedev twice hit the referee's platform with a racket and made claims to the Argentine team, after which Schwartzman said that he would no longer communicate and train with the Russian.

In addition to the desire to find out personal relations, the Argentinean had another reason to prove himself - by defeating Medvedev, he could secure himself a hit in the ATP Final tournament.

However, the struggle as such did not work out.

At the very beginning of the match, Medvedev began to show his best tennis since the US Open and at one point won 12 out of 13 points, securing a 3-1 advantage in games.

Shvartsman had an endless stream of mistakes that only made it easier for the Russian to play.

To take the first set, Medvedev spent only 36 minutes.

In the second game, the Argentine also hardly resisted.

Medvedev made two breaks and won almost all the points on his first serve.

The Russian tennis player gave Schwartzman just one game and scored his fourth victory over him in his career.

At the same time, Medvedev secured himself fourth place in the ATP rankings from next week: he bypasses Swiss Roger Federer, who has not played since February due to a knee injury.

By the way, Schwartzman still made his way to the Final Tournament in London, when Rafael Nadal beat Pablo Carreno-Busta in another quarterfinals.

For the first time in the season to reach the final, Medvedev had to defeat the Canadian Milos Raonic, to whom the Russian had never conceded.

It was a match of tennis players who are famous for their serve, but on Saturday this component of the game was much better for Medvedev.

In the starting set, he again gave up just one point on the first serve and made only three unforced errors.

In the end, one break was enough to bring the game to victory.

One set away from a first #RolexParisMasters final 👀 @ DaniilMedwed takes the opener over Raonic 6-4 💥

🎥: @ TennisTVpic.twitter.com / tEz1PYpUcq

- ATP Tour (@atptour) November 7, 2020

Raonic tried to turn the tide in the eighth game of the second set and earned three break points.

However, each of them Medvedev played and ended the game in his favor.

Soon, the Russian heroically bounced back from the score 40:15 on Raonic's serve and took the lead with a break, having the opportunity to apply for the match.

The Canadian still escaped and switched the set to a tie-break, but started it with four lost points.

Medvedev seized the moment and realized a double matchball on the first try.

“When you play against Milos, you are always at risk, because if he wins on your serve, then it will be very difficult to respond in kind.

I understood that it was impossible to relax.

The first set went well, I didn't have to win back the break points, and I myself managed to win on his serve.

The second set was more difficult.

The game was nervous, but I am glad that I made it to the final, "Medvedev commented on the victory.

In the final, the Russian will be opposed by the German Alexander Zverev.