Reigning champion Daniil Medvedev powered into his second consecutive Rolex Paris Masters final on Saturday as he snapped Alexander Zverev’s eight-match winning streak, downing the German 6-2, 6-2.
The second seed soared to the title in Paris 12 months ago and put himself in a position to lift the trophy in the French capital again as he dictated against Zverev with his flat groundstrokes to advance after 80 minutes.
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Medvedev saved all three break points he faced and soaked up the German’s powerful hitting, committing just eight unforced errors to level their ATP Head2Head series at 5-5. With his victory, the Russian has now won his past four meetings against Zverev, including last year’s championship match in Paris.
"We had a tough match,” Medvedev said. “Sometimes the score doesn’t show exactly what happened on the court. I am happy to have this score, but he had 2-1, 15/40 in the first set on my serve. I think this first break of serve when you play Sascha is really important because he gains confidence. I am really happy I managed to raise my level throughout the match and I didn’t make too many unforced errors.”
The World No. 2 is aiming to win his second ATP Masters 1000 crown of the season, after triumphing in Toronto in August. The 25-year-old also captured his maiden major title at the US Open in September and lifted trophies in Marseille and Mallorca earlier this year.
Medvedev will face Novak Djokovic in the final after the Serbian edged Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-0, 7-6(5). The 34-year-old’s victory meant he secured the year-end No. 1 FedEx ATP Ranking for a record seventh time, eclipsing the mark he previously shared with Pete Sampras.
“What is good is at this moment, if I am playing Novak it means we are in the final,” Medvedev added. “Except [Nitto] ATP Finals where it can be different. It is always tough to beat Novak. To beat him you have to be at your best, so that is what I am going to try and do tomorrow.”
Zverev has been in dominant form since the start of the Tokyo Olympics, where he won the singles gold medal. The World No. 4 has won 28 of his past 31 matches, also triumphing in Cincinnati during his run. However, the 24-year-old was unable to find his best form against a relentless Medvedev.
The second seed soared to the title in Paris 12 months ago and put himself in a position to lift the trophy in the French capital again as he dictated against Zverev with his flat groundstrokes to advance after 80 minutes.
[FOLLOW 1000]
Medvedev saved all three break points he faced and soaked up the German’s powerful hitting, committing just eight unforced errors to level their ATP Head2Head series at 5-5. With his victory, the Russian has now won his past four meetings against Zverev, including last year’s championship match in Paris.
"We had a tough match,” Medvedev said. “Sometimes the score doesn’t show exactly what happened on the court. I am happy to have this score, but he had 2-1, 15/40 in the first set on my serve. I think this first break of serve when you play Sascha is really important because he gains confidence. I am really happy I managed to raise my level throughout the match and I didn’t make too many unforced errors.”
The World No. 2 is aiming to win his second ATP Masters 1000 crown of the season, after triumphing in Toronto in August. The 25-year-old also captured his maiden major title at the US Open in September and lifted trophies in Marseille and Mallorca earlier this year.
Medvedev will face Novak Djokovic in the final after the Serbian edged Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-0, 7-6(5). The 34-year-old’s victory meant he secured the year-end No. 1 FedEx ATP Ranking for a record seventh time, eclipsing the mark he previously shared with Pete Sampras.
“What is good is at this moment, if I am playing Novak it means we are in the final,” Medvedev added. “Except [Nitto] ATP Finals where it can be different. It is always tough to beat Novak. To beat him you have to be at your best, so that is what I am going to try and do tomorrow.”
Zverev has been in dominant form since the start of the Tokyo Olympics, where he won the singles gold medal. The World No. 4 has won 28 of his past 31 matches, also triumphing in Cincinnati during his run. However, the 24-year-old was unable to find his best form against a relentless Medvedev.