World No. 25 Alex de Minaur said he played «intelligently» against Daniil Medvedev and admitted feeling «proud» after defeating the Russian in the second round of the Paris Masters. De Minaur, who is not seeded in Paris, stunned fourth seed Medvedev 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.
“It’s good to get it, for sure. It’s the end of the year, everyone is a bit tired, but I’m very proud of my performance. I just played very smart. I knew it was going to be a game of chess, both of them would tease each other to be aggressive, but you didn’t want to be too aggressive sometimes either.
It was an absolute battle and I am very happy that I was able to come out on top,» de Minaur said after the match, according to the ATP website.
How did De Minaur defeat Medvedev?
The first break points of the match were seen in the second game, when de Minaur missed three break points, which could have given him an early break advantage.
De Minaur did not get a break in the second game, but he did in the tenth game, when Medvedev was serving to stay in the first set. After losing the first set, Medvedev claimed his first break of the match in the first game of the second set.
In game seven, Medvedev broke De Minaur again to go up a double break before serving for the second set in the next game. After easily winning the second set, Medvedev broke De Minaur in the first game of the third set.
Just when it seemed all the momentum was on Medvedev’s side, de Minaur recovered the break in game four. De Minaur then saved a break point in the ninth game to open a 5-4 lead, but then lost two match points in the tenth game as Medvedev tied the second set at five games apiece.
De Minaur did not break Medvedev’s serve in game ten, but managed to do so in game 12 as Australlain earned his fourth match point to complete an upset victory over the Russian.
