Daniil Medvedev ended an 882-day title drought last year in Almaty, defeating Corentin Moutet in the final for his 21st career title.
This year he’s back in the hunt in Kazakhstan, bidding for title No. 25.
The former World No. 1 stretched his tournament winning streak to six matches with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Terence Atmane on Friday to reach the semifinals. Medvedev has earned a tour-leading 36 hard-court wins this season, and he also boosted his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals. Currently No. 5 in the race (with Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal accounted for), the 30-year-old leads eighth-placed Rafael Jodar by 361 points.
Medvedev, ranked No. 5, improved to 3-0 against Atmane and reached his ninth semifinal of the season. He is attempting to complete his first successful title defense in Almaty.
He is now 9-1 lifetime at the ATP 250 event.
The Russian did not face a break point against the 98th-ranked Atmane and converted two of his eight break opportunities to win in 75 minutes.
He won 91 percent of first serve points and cracked 13 forehand winners.
“It is not easy to play against Terence,” Medvedev said. “Big serve, big shots. I had to stay in the match and found some good passing shots and good winners.”
Elsewhere, seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas got past James Duckworth 6-3, 6-4, setting up a semifinal clash with Nikoloz Basilashvili, who defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-1.
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