By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | August 17, 2019
Russia's Daniil Medvedev stunned Novak Djokovic to book his spot in the Cincy Tennis final, where he'll face David Goffin.
Photo Source: Rob Carr/Getty
Every so often there is one singular shot that turns a match around. Or is there?
In reality it’s never that simple, but on Saturday Daniil Medvedev’s backhand return winner with Djokovic serving at 3-4, 30-40 in the second set was most certainly the turning point of a match that started as a Djokovic clinic and ended as a declaration of Medvedev’s vast potential as a disruptor of men’s tennis.
In a match that was until this point firmly controlled by Djokovic, after Djokovic barely missed an ace on his first serve (he challenged), Medvedev stepped in, hugged the baseline and ripped a down-the-line backhand return that Djokovic could only watch sail past.
Courage. Conviction. Swagger.
With that break in tow, Medvedev sailed through his next service game at love to force a decider (clinching it with a blistering forehand winner) then red-lined his way to an enthralling 3-6 6-3 6-3 victory over the World No.1 to book his spot in consecutive Masters 1000 finals.
“I was so tired in the first set and playing Novak I thought I was not going to be able to keep the intensity,” Medvedev said on court after the match. “Then there was one momentum change in the second and I started just playing unbelievable.”
That pivotal moment at 3-4 30-40 had opened the tap and it would be Medvedev’s aggressive game that flowed through like a fire hose left uncontained for the remainder of the match.
He blasted serves, sprayed winners and never looked back.
Medvedev broke in the third game of the third set and again in the final game for good measure to clinch the victory.
It's an improbable win on paper, given that Djokovic was riding a 10-match winning streak and owned a 3-1 lifetime record over the 23-year-old Russian. But even more improbable was the way that Medvedev rallied late in a match that looked to be nearing its end in the second set.
Medvedev flicked the switch from passive to aggressive mid-way through the match, after he had been seeing the trainer for pain in his right bicep. At the time it appeared as if he had crashed into the wall--how would he possibly produce enough magic to tame the great Djokovic with a nagging injury now rearing its ugly head?
But when his energy surge came late it seemed to catch Djokovic off guard and the better the Russian played the harder it was for Djokovic to keep pace.
Medvedev credited a tactical decision to go for bigger second serves from the middle of the second set as a major contributing factor in his victory.
“He was just destroying me on my second serve, and at one moment, 6-3, 3-all, love-30 I’m like ‘okay, what’s the matter to do normal second serves if I’m going to lose the point?' And I started to win more points with my second serve like this," he said.
Medvedev also moved in on his second-serve return hit point and was more aggressive in general, which helped him get into return games--Djokovic lost just seven service points in his first eight games on serve.
It was a stunning display from a player who has been wowing the tennis world for much of the summer. Medvedev now leads the ATP in hard court wins with 30 and overall match wins with 43.
He will face David Goffin on Sunday, with both players bidding for their first Masters 1000 final.
Tennis has not seen a changing of the guard at the Grand Slams, where the big 3 of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal have won 54 of the last 65 major titles, but things are changing rapidly at the Masters 1000 level. Tomorrow’s champion will be the ninth first-time Masters winner from the last 21 events. In the 93 Masters series events prior to 2017 Rome, nine players won their first ATP Masters 1000 title.
“David is an amazing player, I lost to him like one and a half months ago at Wimbledon in an amazing five-setter. It’s never easy to play him—he’s in great shape here and I hope it’s going to be a great final.”