Former champion Danill Medvedev will leave the ATP Finals as the only player without a win. The Russian gave his best in all three meetings, only to lose them in the deciding tiebreaker to an early exit and a terrible run in the closing stages of the season.
Medvedev has lost eight straight matches against top 10 opponents since the Australian Open, hoping for a better run in early 2023. The Russian came within two points of beating Andrey Rublev in the opener before serving for the win. against Stefanos Tsitsipas. and Novak Djokovic.
He squandered those opportunities and left Turin with no points to their account. Medvedev’s latest blow came against Novak Djokovic in the final round-robin match, with the exhausted Serb prevailing 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 in three hours and 11 minutes!
Novak struggled physically from the second set, barely surviving countless lengthy rallies but still finding enough strength in his body to emerge on top. Unsurprisingly, Medvedev was unable to take positive notes from another close loss, feeling terrible about his game and looking for improvements during the offseason.
Novak picked up 19 more points, but there was nothing to separate them in sets two and three. The Serb made the difference with the first serve and defended five of six break points. He twice stole the opponent’s serve to emerge on top and maintain a perfect score in Turin.
They held neck-and-neck at the shortest range to four shots, and Djokovic carved out the lead in later rallies. Despite the tough battle, both opponents had more winners than unforced errors, giving it their all and putting on another memorable duel.
Daniil wasted a game point in the eighth game of the opener and hit a backhand to fall behind 5-3.
Daniil Medvedev suffered three heavy defeats in Turin.
Novak served for the set in game nine and fired a backhand down the line for a 6-3 winner after 46 minutes.
In one of the crucial moments of the match, Medvedev saved a break point at 4-4 in the second set with a forehand cross winner. Struggling more and more, Djokovic played against three set points in the tenth game. Doing his best to seal the deal in straight sets and finish the job, Novak denies the first two with winners and secured the third after a forehand cross winner following a 33-shot exchange!
The set went into a tiebreaker and Medvedev forced Djokovic’s volley error at 5-5 for set point. Daniil took advantage of it after Novak’s backhand error to slot in a decider after one hour and 56 minutes. The Russian erased a break point in the eighth game of the final set with an ace and took the second break point in the next one that lasted 16 minutes!
Novak lost all energy after an endless game, and Daniil served for the win in the tenth game. Suddenly, Djokovic found his shots and broke to 15 with a game-winning volley to extend the match. The set went into a tie break, and the Serb was the only player on the court after building momentum.
Novak carved out a 4-1 lead with an excellent serve and volley combo and earned four match points from a service winner at 5-2. Djokovic attacked and fired a forehand down the line winner in the first that propelled him over the top and roared after another incredible win.
