Medvedev Overhauls Sinner For Rotterdam Title
Daniil Medvedev cemented his return to the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings by continuing his domination of Jannik Sinner on Sunday at the ABN AMRO Open, where the sixth seed completed a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory in the championship match.
Medvedev had to retain his composure after dropping a hard-fought opening set at the indoor ATP 500 event in Rotterdam. Montpellier champion Sinner started aggressively in his pursuit of back-to-back ATP Tour titles, but Medvedev responded by digging deep, dialling in on serve and frequently defying the Italian with some outstanding defence to improve his lead in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series to 6-0.
“It was a very tough match, I would say mentally for both of us, I think,” said Medvedev, who now holds a 10-4 record in Rotterdam. “Jannik was on top of me, especially in the first part of the first set. I managed to come back into the set even though, in my opinion, I was playing worse than him. Maybe that gave me some time to find my rhythm.
“I started playing just a little bit more offensive on a few shots, and it managed to work well at the beginning of the second set. I just managed to continue pushing him mentally down until the end of the match.”
With his two-hour, 29-minute win, Medvedev secured his 16th tour-level title, 15 of which have been won on hard courts. He will return to the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday as a result of his first title since his Vienna triumph last October, with the 27-year-old set to leapfrog Hubert Hurkacz, Holger Rune and Felix Auger-Aliassime to No. 8.
“It’s great because it’s still the beginning of the year,” added Medvedev. “My third tournament of the year, and already a title. Last year I needed 12 tournaments or something like this. Beating great players, playing great here.
“Mentally it’s tough to come back after you [drop out] of the Top 10… I’m just happy to find my form and am looking forward to the next tournament and hopefully I can continue in this way.”
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After his semi-final win against Tallon Griekspoor, Sinner revealed plans to speak to his team to devise a plan for Sunday’s final that would help avoid a repeat of his past struggles against Medvedev. Although the Italian was still required to go toe to toe in extended baseline exchanges with the sixth seed, he also frequently ventured forward to try and disrupt his opponent’s rhythm.
Those tactics paid off early as Sinner clinched a gripping opening set at the Rotterdam Ahoy. Although Medvedev rallied by winning three games in a row from 1-4, some stunning all-court play from Sinner earned him another crucial break in the 12th game to clinch a set in which he won 12 from 17 points at the net.
Yet that disappointment barely seemed to impact Medvedev, who engineered an immediate momentum shift. His relentless hitting off both wings forced Sinner into some early errors in the second set, and he broke the Italian in the first game en route to levelling the match.
Two further breaks of serve for Medvedev followed in the decider as Sinner, who was chasing his eighth win in the space of 10 days after lifting his first title of the season in Montpellier last week, appeared to tire. Medvedev went on to complete victory after converting five of his 12 break points and hitting just 17 unforced errors to Sinner’s 30.
Title town for @DaniilMedwed @abnamroopen ????????
— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) February 19, 2023
The human wall ???? went full ???? down mode today.
Forehands in: 91% (124/137)
Backhands in: 93% (282/302)
2nd Returns in: 95% (39/41)
Medvedev's #StealScore in sets 2 & 3 ????????#TennisInsights | @atptour | @abnamroopen pic.twitter.com/iQIHoTOOT1
“I played many matches in the past days and I’m very happy to be in this kind of position,” reflected a positive Sinner, who will rise two spots to No. 12 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday, after the match. “Obviously in the first set I felt great, I started off in the best way. In the second, the momentum changed a little bit and in the third set I didn’t serve that well.
“But I think I have improved, especially against him, and so I will try to look forward to [more] of these kinds of matches.”
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