The start of the season for Daniil Medvedev this year is just phenomenal. In Miami, he made it to the fifth final in a row, having previously won three titles out of four. Since February 14, only the second number of the world ranking Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the "Masters" in Indian Wells two weeks ago managed to beat the Russian on the court. However, the defeat against the Spaniard did not affect the mood of the tennis player. As the athlete himself explains, he is still on a physical and moral rise.
"We managed to catch the wave. Last year I couldn't play so many tournaments at a high level. I performed well and then for some reason just switched off in some match. The further you go down the grid, the higher the probability of conceding. I lost meetings after which I could say to myself: yes, this was not the best match. I'm doing much better this year, especially in the later stages. I hope I will be able to continue the season in the same spirit, "Medvedev said at one of the press conferences.
So no one was surprised by Daniel's confident performance in Miami. In five matches at the tournament, he gave only one set - to his compatriot Karen Khachanov in the semifinals. At first glance, there should have been no problems with the fifth racket of the world in the fight for the title with Yannick Sinner.
In favor of the Russian, first of all, spoke the statistics of personal meetings. Daniil has never lost to the Italian in his career. And their last confrontation on the court took place quite recently - in the final of the February tournament in Rotterdam. Then the Russian gave the first set, and then did not leave the opponent a single chance.
However, since then, Sinner has significantly improved and in Miami managed to easily beat Andrei Rublev, as well as stop Medvedev's offender - Alcaraz. Although I spent a little more than three hours on it. Nevertheless, experts still preferred the Russian athlete.
"I think Medvedev is lucky to be dating Sinner and not Alcaraz. The Spaniard is an uncomfortable opponent for him. Yannick is not a gift now. He has added and plays quite sharply, but maybe a reliable game, good shots and psychological confidence will give our tennis player an advantage, "said Honored Coach of Russia Viktor Yanchuk before the match in a conversation with RIA Novosti.
Commentator Anna Dmitrieva agreed with him. According to her, Sinner prefers a classic game, albeit at a very fast pace, with deep blows. This style is understandable and well known to Medvedev.
As if to confirm the words of the Soviet tennis player, Daniil confidently started the meeting, taking the first game on his serve to zero, while the Italian was a little nervous on his own. Several times in innocuous situations, he directed the ball into the net, and another mistake in the execution of the shortened gave the Russian a chance to make a break. It was not possible to use it. However, Medvedev clung to the opponent and did not allow Yannick to take the game. The Italian still fought back, but it took him a lot of strength and 13 draws.
Daniil did not manage to immediately develop success, and in the fifth game the tennis player unexpectedly unglued his serve. He allowed three doubles, giving Sinner five (!) attempts to take the lead. Yannick did not accept the gift for a long time, making unforced errors on the forehand, but eventually took a point.
The difference between the current Medvedev and himself in the past is that he does not switch off from the struggle. Daniil immediately made a reverse break on the reception quite easily, restoring the balance in the match.
Another chance to cling to the opponent's serve from the Russian appeared at the score of 6: 5 in his favor. Yannick did not have the first serve (only 51%), and after the second opponent dragged the Italian into long rallies, for which he no longer had enough strength. In the end, everything ended with unforced errors. It seems that the three-hour marathon with Alcaraz was not easy for the tennis player, and he did not have time to recover for the final. By the end of the set, Medvedev finally began to take advantage of this. The athlete earned two break points and the first realized - 7:5.
At the beginning of the second set, the feeling that the Italian was tired only grew. He gave his game away easily enough, and Daniil led 2-0, but Sinner tried to immediately return the intrigue in the match. And even made a reverse break. But it seems to have taken all the remaining forces, and then it was a matter of time before the Russian wins. Medvedev calmly took the point again at the reception, and at 5-3 earned a triple matchball on his serve and won the game at zero. However, as it turned out, the meeting of the domestic athlete was also not easy.
"I'm really happy. Today was a tough match. In addition, the weather was very hot. The conditions were not the easiest. I don't know what condition Sinner was in. But it was not easy for me, I tried not to show it," Medvedev said after the match.
Thanks to this success, the tennis player on Monday, April 3, will rise from fifth to fourth place in the world ranking, bypassing the Norwegian Casper Ruud. Daniil won the 19th trophy of his career, and also recorded his name in the history of the Masters in Miami. Previously, only once the trophy here went to the Russian. In 2008, Nikolai Davydenko was stronger than Rafael Nadal himself.