Stefanos Tsitsipas took on the challenge to beat his most familiar rival Danill Medvedev 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-3 to enter Cincinnati Masters 1000 final. The 4th seed utilized his net play effectively to counter Medvedev’s long stretches and beat him in 2 hours and 23 minutes.
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Tsitsipas and Medvedev are fierce rivals on the ATP Tour. The Greek overcame the difficult matchup to close the gap in ATP H2H to 3-7. The match swung both ways with moments of lost focus from both the players. Stefanos saved a set point in the first set tiebreak and won 3 consecutive points to close out the set.
The second featured Medvedev’s ability to keep up his level despite tiring sets. After leading 0-5 in the 2nd set, he lost some of his focus and lost the chance to bagel his opponent. Tsitsipasmade the most of the opportunity and broke Medvedev to close the gap to 3-5. But he was unable to convert another break point at 0-40 when Daniil served for the set.
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Tsitsipas brought the heavy comeback momentum to the deciding set. He used well-timed and effective net approaches to counter Medvedev’s game. He then converted the only break point of the decider in the sixth game courtesy of a double fault from Medvedev. Stefanos Tsitsipas remained cool and served out the set to claim victory.
Reactions from Stefanos Tsitsipas after the match
“There were some difficult shots I had to play a bit more,” Tsitsipas said of his measured game plan. “A few short balls I really took advantage of and came in. A lot of courageous serve and volleys approaches to the net that definitely gave me that great win today.”
“I knew I had to sign up for a difficult task, third set, it wasn’t going to be easy,” Tsitsipas said post-match. “He made it very physical and really demanding for me. I just took advantage of some of his missed first serves. I think I had a couple opportunities where it seemed to be going towards to my side.”
“He kept missing a lot of first serves consecutively and that gave me some time to think of my next move a little bit clearer,” Tsitsipas said, alluding to his opponents 49 per cent first-serve percentage. “He gave me a double fault on break point, which I think was very important moment for me psychologically to give my best shot. I was a few games away and I was very calm and concentrated in every single task that was given to me.”
Stats from the match for Tstisipas
- 2nd career win against World No.1 for Tsitsipas (Shangai 2019 QF vs Djokovic)
- 1st Cincinnati Masters 1000 final (was playing his 3rd straight semifinal)
- 28th career Top 10 win
- 6th Masters 1000 final (1st on hard courts since 2018)
- Most ATP Tour wins this season (46)
- Most Masters 1000 wins this season (19)
