Spoiler:
Daniil Medvedev’s defiant defence shut down the high-powered challenge of Jannik Sinner on Friday at the Erste Bank Open, where the 26-year-old secured a clinical 6-4, 6-2 quarter-final triumph.
Medvedev’s persistence proved decisive in an engrossing 91-minute encounter in the Austrian capital. Sinner threw a barrage of heavy groundstrokes at his opponent but was unable to regularly hit through the top seed. Medvedev did not face a break point in the match and converted three of six break points of his own as he improved his ATP Head2Head series record against the Italian to 4-0.
“Jannik is a top player, and he can pose problems to anybody basically,” said Medvedev after the match. “The last two Grand Slams, he played five sets with the [eventual] winner, so Jannik is a top player and I’m really happy today with my performance.
“I served amazingly well, I almost didn’t do any unforced errors, I was solid behind the baseline. Everything was working well today and I’m really happy about it.”
With the win, Medvedev improved to 32-10 on hard courts in 2022. The fifth-placed player in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, Medvedev was pleased to have backed up his semi-final run in Astana three weeks ago by reaching the same stage in Vienna for the first time.
“In general the way I played today against Jannik is the same as in Astana," said the top seed. "I’m really happy, I have been looking for this level for a long, long time. It’s the level where I can win the biggest tournaments on Tour and I hope I can bring it to two more matches.”
Medvedev’s persistence proved decisive in an engrossing 91-minute encounter in the Austrian capital. Sinner threw a barrage of heavy groundstrokes at his opponent but was unable to regularly hit through the top seed. Medvedev did not face a break point in the match and converted three of six break points of his own as he improved his ATP Head2Head series record against the Italian to 4-0.
“Jannik is a top player, and he can pose problems to anybody basically,” said Medvedev after the match. “The last two Grand Slams, he played five sets with the [eventual] winner, so Jannik is a top player and I’m really happy today with my performance.
“I served amazingly well, I almost didn’t do any unforced errors, I was solid behind the baseline. Everything was working well today and I’m really happy about it.”
With the win, Medvedev improved to 32-10 on hard courts in 2022. The fifth-placed player in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, Medvedev was pleased to have backed up his semi-final run in Astana three weeks ago by reaching the same stage in Vienna for the first time.
“In general the way I played today against Jannik is the same as in Astana," said the top seed. "I’m really happy, I have been looking for this level for a long, long time. It’s the level where I can win the biggest tournaments on Tour and I hope I can bring it to two more matches.”
