Daniil Medvedev is a Major, Masters 1000 and the ATP Finals champion! However, we have rarely seen him celebrate a win as he did against Arthur Fils following the Indian Wells thriller. The Russian prevailed 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 in two hours and 25 minutes.
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He emerged at the top and jumped in joy, celebrating his place in the semi-final as he claimed a trophy. Despite losing in the next round to Holger Rune, a hard-foughtwin over Fils meant a lot for the former world no. 1. When we examine his recent numbers, it's not hard to see why!
Daniil has not won an ATP titles since Rome two years ago. It has also been a year withoutMedvedev in the ATP final. The Russian reached his first Masters 1000 semi-final since Miami last year, which also meant him a lot.
Daniil defeated Tommy Paul in the previous round, earning a rare top-20 victory after falling nine times in the previous 11 encounters against the rivals from the mentioned group. To make things even more interesting, Medvedev has been struggling in the deciding tie breaks.
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He entered it with a terrible 1-8 score since the 2022 ATP Cup and prevailed despite standing two points away from losing. The defeat could have easy happened, with Fils leading 4-2 in the decider. Daniil bounced back and seized the third match point in the tie break for an uncharacteristiccelebration.
The Russian claimed four points more than his rival. He lost serve four times thanks to the second set and responded with three breaks on his tally, including the crucial one in the second part of the decider. Arthur hit more winners but also sprayed over 50 unforced errors.
The young gun hit four service winners more than his rival and outplayed him 23-4 at the net! Medvedev had to dig deep from the baseline to erase that deficit, forging a 62-41 advantage and remaining competitive. To make things even tighter, they stayed neck and neck in the shortest, mid-range and most extended exchanges.
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Daniil grabbed a break in the third game of the opener after Arthur's smash error. Medvedev missed another break chance in game five and served well in the remaining ones, wrapping up the opener 6-4 in 41 minutes.
Fils stepped in and dominated the second set, leaving a top-10 rival behind. The young gun grabbed a break in the second game and provided three fine holds for a 5-2 lead. The Russian missed a backhand in the eighth game and faced three set points.
Arthur converted the second, winning the set 6-2 and introducing a decider after an hour and 16 minutes. The returners stepped in early in the final set and provided four breaks in five games from 1-1. Fils led 4-2 before Medvedev landed a backhand crosscourt winner in game seven to erase the deficit.
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They served well in the remaining five games and introduced a tie break.Fils missed a routine forehand at 1-0 and fell 3-2 behind after a loose slice. The Frenchman forced the Russian's mistake in the sixth point for 3-3 and more drama.
Arthur won two points on serve for 5-4 before netting a routine backhand at 5-5, offering Daniil a match point. The young gun denied it with a forehand attack and extended the battle. Medvedev welcomed the rival's forehand mistake for the second match point.
A top-10 player sprayed a backhand error and kept his rival in contention. Daniil finally converted the third match point afterArthur's volley error, moving over the top and reaching his first Masters 1000 final in almost a year.
