“Boom. Done.”
That is how Daniil Medvedev says he is going about his business these days, and he is not wrong. An on-fire Medvedev turned in another clinical performance and once again picked up a straight-set victory as he triumphed over Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-1 in the final of the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Sunday afternoon. Playing in a sixth consecutive title match, the world No. 4 completed his flawless trek though the penultimate Masters 1000 event of the year by prevailing in one hour and 13 minutes.
Medvedev’s hot streak features two Masters 1000 titles (also in St. Petersburg), another winner’s trophy in St. Petersburg, runner-up performances in Washington, D.C., Montreal, and at the U.S. Open, and a 29-3 overall record with losses only to Rafael Nadal (twice) and Nick Kyrgios. He is 59-17 overall in 2019, leading the ATP in total wins, hard-court wins, and Masters 1000 wins.
“This one is also amazing because Shanghai I think is one of the most prestigious Masters on the tour,” the 23-year-old explained. “Especially in the past 10 years there were only three players who managed to win this one, so it’s really special to have my photo in the corridor over the next many years…. It’s something outrageous that I’ve done in the past few months and I have been working for it. But it is how it is, I just take it and I hope I’m going to do much more.”
Medvedev is just a little more than 1000 points behind Roger Federer in the rankings and he is up to third in the 2019 race, trailing only Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
“Everybody is talking that they need new guys, something new, so I gave them something new. I don’t celebrate my wins. I just stay calm; I do my job. Boom. Done.”
“He’s a different player now,” said Zverev, who had been 4-0 lifetime in the head-to-head series with Medvedev. “You can’t compare. I feel like I’m playing well; I feel like I’m on a very good path again. But obviously I have to be on this path for a longer period of time, I think. But making the final of a Masters is huge for me right now, and I’m very happy about that.”
The 22-year-old German is in position to join Nadal, Djokovic, Medvedev, Federer, Dominic Thiem, and Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Nitto ATP Finals for a defense of his 2018 title. He leads No. 8 Matteo Berrettini (lost to Zverev in the Shanghai semifinals) and is 370 points clear of No. 9 Roberto Bautista Agut.
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amazing stuff, Med
It’s good for tennis to have a young gun in the mix…Hooray for Medvedev (and Zv as well)!!