Russian tennis player Medvedev wins ATP Finals in London
In the final match, Medvedev snatched a 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 victory over Austria’s Dominic Thiem, who ranks number three in the world. On the road to the finals, both tennis players prevailed over Serbian player Novak Djokovic and Spanish national Rafael Nadal, ranked first and second in the world by the ATP. Medvedev faced Djokovic at the group stage and Nadal in the semifinals. The Russian player faced Thiem in five matches, with the Austrian player winning three of them, while Medvedev snatched a victory in two games.
This is the first win for 24-year-old Medvedev in the ATP Finals on his second time playing in the tournament. Last year, he lost all his three games, placing last in his group. This season, the Russian national won all three matches within his group. Medvedev is currently fourth in the ATP’s world ranking, boasting nine ATP titles.
Medvedev, who snatched a decisive victory in the ATP Finals in London, has made great progress in his career, President of the Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) Shamil Tarpishchev told TASS.
«This is a triumph, Daniil is on an upward curve, he’s doing great. He has done great this year,» Tarpishchev said. «Last year, he did not fail his debut at the Finals, he simply did not manage the weight of additional responsibility like [Russian tennis player Andrey] Rublev right now.»
«Daniil is doing a great job, he is progressing, and there is room for growth,» he noted. «There is still a long way to go until Federer’s 21 Grand Slams - there are so many goals ahead.» Swiss tennis player Roger Federer has won record-high 20 Grand Slams, possibly vying for his 21th title in 2021.
Medvedev thinks that his victory in the Nitto ATP Finals in London is one of the highlights of his career, he said on the Eurosport channel.
«What a match. One of my best victories, three sets against an amazing player,» he said, congratulating his rival Dominic Thiem as well. «Dominic, congratulations already for what you achieved in your career. Your name is already in the history of tennis books.»
«I hope we are going to have many more matches to come on the big occasions like this,» Medvedev said.
Medvedev is the second Russian in history to win the Nitto ATP Finals after Nikolay Davydenko, who secured this title in 2009.
«I always said before this tournament that it would be an amazing story if, here in London, where the tournament was for 11 years, that the first champion would be Russian and the last champion would be Russian, too,» the Russian player said, thanking Davydenko for being an inspiration to young tennis players.