“Many Things I Didn’t Like”: Daniil Medvedev Assesses His ATP Cup Semi-Final Win Over Alexander Zverev

Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev has spoken up on his incredible win over German Alexander Zverev, which helped his country reach the final of the ongoing ATP Cup in Melbourne.

Speaking courtside after scripting a resurgent comeback victory over Zverev, the losing finalist at the US Open last year shed light on the key moments which helped him come out on the winning side after losing the opening set.

Zverev couldn’t cash in on break point chances against Medvedev in deciding set

The Russian touched on a key moment in the match when he had failed to cash in on his first match point in the deciding set, fluffing a routine serve-and-volley. 

The reigning ATP Finals champion also dwelt on his double fault that the German had failed to capitalize on in what turned out to be the last game of the match.

Zverev had as many as five chances to break back and take the deciding set into a tie-breaker, but he couldn’t convert any of them.

Medvedev said he sensed that his German opponent was tiring and wanted to force him into making “long returns”. The score-line read 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the Russian’s favor at the end of a knife-edged see-saw battle.

“Crazy Match”: Daniil Medvedev on his semi-final win over Zverev

Reflecting on his performance, Medvedev said that there were moments in the match where he could have played better but was happy to have come out a winner in the end.

“Crazy match, happy to win. (There are) many things I didn’t like (about his performance) but the most important thing is (the) win for the country and being in the final,” Medvedev said.

His countrymate Andrey Rublev set the tone for a Russian surge in the semi-final clash at the team event, winning in three sets against Jan-Lennard Struff.

Rublev struggled to impose himself on his opponent in the opening set, losing it 3-6. However, he gathered himself and pulled off an astonishing comeback to win the next two sets 6-1, 6-2, putting Russian 1-0 ahead in the ATP Cup last-four clash.

Read More: How Can Daniil Medvedev Jump Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem for the World Number 2 Spot After Australian Open 2021?

Medvedev also had the measure of the tall German in the final of the Rolex Paris Masters last year, posting a similar comeback win as he did on Saturday.