The last Medvedev victory was in the Vienna final
Medvedev was the only one of the eight players to lose all of his three group games, all in the tie-break of the third set – before that once morest his compatriot Rublev and the Greek Tsitsipas. Medvedev’s last match win on the tour this year was in the final of the Wiener Erste Bank Open on October 30 once morest Canadian Denis Shapovalov. Then he lost to the Australian Alex de Minaur at the start of the Masters 1000 event in Paris and now three times in Turin.
Djokovic knew that Medvedev didn’t want to end the year like this: “He certainly didn’t want to lose,” said the tournament favorite in the “on court” interview. “He played well in the decisive moments.” The Serb had physical problems in the second set, so Medvedev did not come into the third set as expected. “I didn’t feel very good physically in the third set,” said the eventual winner. “I had to get the last bit of energy out.” Djokovic assured that he had never thought of a where because he had already qualified for the semifinals.
Rublew looked bad in the first set once morest Tsitsipas, but the game tipped over during the second round. An early break in the third set finally paved the way for the Russian to win. In the direct comparisons of the semi-final opponents, Djokovic leads 5-0 once morest Fritz, Rublew is 4-1 ahead of Ruud.
