Daniil Medvedev beat Stefanos Tsitsipas…. Again. And he reached an ATP final…. Again.
Medvedev improved to 5-0 lifetime against Tsitsipas and advanced to a sixth straight title match with a 7-6(5), 7-5 victory in the semifinals of the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Saturday. The Russian, who is coming off a runner-up showing at the U.S. Open and a title in St. Petersburg, prevailed in one hour and 36 minutes.
“Making six (finals) in a row, including three Masters 1000s and one Grand Slam, is something I could never dream of, to be honest,” said Medvedev, whose surge began in Washington, D.C. “But I want to keep the momentum going and hope I can make it to seven or eight.”
Tsitsipas’ Shanghai run may be over, but not before he upset world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, officially qualified for a debut appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals, and came within striking distance of getting over the hump against the hottest player on tour.
“To be honest, I really felt good today and I felt like I could win this match,” the 21-year-old Greek explained. “I felt good, actually; I didn’t feel bad. Today I actually felt the most comfortable among the other times that I played against him. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to beat him the next time or the time after that one, but I know there’s going to be a time where I’m going to find opportunities and beat him. I don’t know when it’s going to come. Probably two, three, four, five, six years’ time, I don’t know, but it’s going to come at some point.”
It is now up to Medvedev to turn the tables on head-to-head futility, as he is 0-4 lifetime against final opponent Alexander Zverev heading into Sunday. Zverev, already a three-time Masters 1000 champion at 22 years old, defeated Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-4 in the nightcap.
“It feels great, obviously,” the sixth-ranked German assured. “I [feel] like I’ve played some decent tennis this week and being in a Masters 1000 final here in Shanghai is also something very special for me. I’m looking forward to it and hopefully I can play some good tennis tomorrow.”
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