By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, November 8, 2020
Daniil Medvedev rolled through nine of the last 10 games defeating Alexander Zverev 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 to capture his third career Masters title at the Rolex Paris Masters.
Photo credit: Rolex Paris Masters
Time management has long been Daniil Medvedev’s forte.
The Russian rarely bounces the ball more than twice before serving, seldom goes to the towel while returning and strikes his groundstrokes with efficient ease.
More: Olga Sharypova Details Abusive Relationship With Zverev
Facing a one set, 3-4 deficit today, Medvedev wasted no time stamping his authority on this Rolex Paris Masters final.
Medvedev surged through seven straight games—including winning three games at love—streaking past Alexander Zverev 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 to capture his first title of 2020 in Paris.
The man with the crocodile on his shirt showed biting effectiveness racing through nine of the final 10 games to win his first title since he defeated Zverev 6-4, 6-1 in the Shanghai Masters final 13 months ago.
"I was playing really good this tournament especially today after the first set I couldn’t give up," Medvedev said. "Sasha was serving well playing well. I just stayed there.
"At one moment I even raised my level higher and higher, started to put pressure on him and it worked he broke his level a little bit."
It is Medvedev’s eighth career title, including his third Masters 1000 crown.
The Moscow-born baseliner joins Marat Safin, Nikolay Davydenko and Karen Khachanov as the fourth Russian to raise the tournament's distinctive tree trophy.
"For sure it’s great, I’m really happy," Medvedev said. "As I always say I don’t show this after the match but I’m really happy to win matches. Before the tournament I wasn’t in my best form. Playing not so bad with zero finals this year. Actually I was complaining to my wife 'Oh my God I don’t have the level. I don’t even have one final. I’m playing so bad blah, blah, blah.'
"So finally I’m the winner of Bercy with a tournament. I won first title in France, first final in France. Three Masters titles, I’m just super happy and hopefully I can continue this style of play."
Riding a 12-match winning streak into his third straight final, Zverev was empowered by his semifinal win over top-seeded Rafael Nadal yesterday and put himself within eight points of his third title of the season.
Then the roof caved in on the world No. 7.
Whether it was Medvedev dialing in his return game, the German’s struggles to back up his second serve or the off-court controversy Zverev has confronted with ex-girlfriend Olga Sharypova’s allegations of domestic abuse, the US Open runner-up looked completely spent as his game dissolved by the final stages of the match.
"I was tired. At the end of the second set I was tired," Zverev said. "I was dead. The third set was always going to be very difficult for me. I had a very extremely physical match against [Adrian] Mannarino, which wore me down a lot. I didn't have quite the energy to finish it off.
"I knew that I had to win in two sets, and once I lost the second set I knew it was going to be difficult, especially against him who is not somebody who is very wild. You know, he's very composed. He's gonna make you run, he's gonna make you run for every point. Yeah, it was difficult at the end."
Afterward, Zverev gave gracious congratulations to Medvedev and referenced his off-court issues.
"One last thing, I know that there is going to be a lot of people that right now are trying to wipe a smile off my face," Zverev said. "But under this this mask I’m smiling brightly. I feel incredible on court. I have the people that I love around me.
"I’m probably going to be a father very soon. Everything is great in my life. The people that are trying can keep trying but I’m still smiling under this mask even though you can’t see."
Summoning his best tennis over the final set-and-a-half, Medvedev broke four times and won 17 of 26 points played on the 6'6" German's second serve.
The Top 10’s two tallest trees have an extensive history rooted in baseline aggression.
Medvedev won the toss elected to receive. The Russian stamped his serve in the early stages slashing five aces in his first two service games.
Zverev showed the surprise serve-and-volley to finish a deuce hold and forge ahead 4-3.
The former US Open finalists brought first-serve fire with both serving above 80 percent for most of the opening set. Medvedev pumped his ninth ace ending the 10th game and Zverev answered pounding his fourth ace to take a 6-5.
Pressure prompted the first significant stress of the set as Medvedev missed four of six first serves and made a couple of loose errors before Zverev zapped a pass down the line for triple set point.
The third-seeded Russian saved the first two set points, but a crosscourt forehand coaxed a sailed forehand response on the third set point. Zverev erupted in a shout snatching the opening set in 43 minutes.
Zverev served 81 percent and won 24 of 29 first-serve points in the set.
The German’s serve was put to the test in the third game of the second set. Medvedev, who was consistently 12 to 15 feet behind the line to return first serve moved much closer to greet a second serve drawing a double fault for his first break point. Zverev smacked an ace to save it.
Confronting a second break point, Zverev dug out a low volley then made superb stretch volley to save it. Still, Medvedev kept plugging away. A tremendous lunging forehand pass earned the Russian a third break point, but Zverev slammed a first serve to save it.
On his fourth break point, Medvedev netted a forehand down the line. Zverev stood up to all the fire, framed a smash but made a fine backhand volley withstanding a 15-minute stress test to hold for 2-1.
Both men move well laterally, Medvedev streaked forward and stopped on a dime lifting a side-spinning drop shot winner for his fifth break point in the ninth game. When Zverev strayed a shot behind the baseline, Medvedev gained his first break for the day to serve for the first set.
Medvedev spun his 13th ace out wide taking the second set to level after one hour, 34 minutes.
Streaking through a rousing run, the Russian strung together 10 straight points breaking at love to start the decider as Zverev botched a routine forehand volley into net.
Of course a break is not truly a break until you hold to back it up. Medvedev, who will never be confused for Pat Rafter or Mischa Zverev around the net, scraped out a tricky forehand volley to help save a break point then used the serve and volley to save a second one. Rapping a forehand crosscourt, Medvedev denied a fourth break point before closing a tough 10-minute hold for a 2-0 lead in the decider.
The lanky Russian’s skill attacking Zverev’s second served turned the match in his favor. Medvedev was inside the baseline when he belted a backhand return down the line breaking for the third time in a row for 3-0.
"Second set I started to put a lot of pressure on him. On my serve I don't think I had breakpoints to save second set, which is good," Medvedev said. "Same thing in the third set in a crucial moment 1-0, for sure got tight, final, you are 1-0 up a break, you know that this game you have to win with old balls. I knew that then he has one game to serve with old balls and then it's going to be new balls.
"So I was fighting for it like an animal. And I managed to make amazing points this game, managed to win and break him with old balls so make it 3-0 double break. Yeah, that was some key moments of the match."
Medvedev confirmed the break for his seventh straight as a reeling Zverev couldn’t find the energy or resources to slow the Russian.
A final double fault from Zverev brought an anti-climactic end to a two hour, seven-minute triumph.