Daniil Medvedev overcame a tough battle with Alexander Zverev in the semi-final of the ATP China Open in Beijing. Ultimately, the second seed prevailed in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.
The World No. 3 has had some closely contested matches at the ATP 500 tournament. His first set against Alex de Minaur in the second round went to a tiebreak before he dropped a set against Ugo Humbert in the quarter-final.
Meanwhile, Zverev has also had to fight through three sets in each of his matches, defeating Nicolas Jarry 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3 to set up the clash with Medvedev. This was the sixteenth meeting between the Russian and the German player, with Medvedev leading their head-to-head 8-7 ahead of this match.
The match started out with both players stubbornly holding their serves with some close-knit games along the way. However, at 5-4, Medvedev found a chance to take the first break of the match by building up two set points in Zverev's service game.
The 27-year-old proceeded to lose the first one, which took the score to a deuce. Nevertheless, he managed to get the advantage. From there, Zverev's powerful striking sent Medvedev running but he reached the ball in time to send it flying past his opponent to secure the break and the first set.
In the second set, Zverev came back to win his first service game 40-0 but was still shaking his head in frustration at losing the opener. The World No. 10 then took it to a deuce on Medvedev's service game but the latter managed to hold serve by acing the 26-year-old.
At 3-4, Medvedev achieved a second break point which proved to be crucial. He gave nothing away as he secured the break and found himself serving for the match.
This final game of the semi-final proved to be a quick and efficient one as Medvedev aced Zverev three times in a row to ensure victory. He will face the winner of the clash between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the final of the China Open.
Medvedev d. Zverev 6-4 6-3 in Beijing Daniil has now beaten Sascha 4 out of the 5 times they’ve played this year. One of the most entertaining rivalries in tennis was rather tame tonight. ✅9 match win streak in China ✅8th final of 2023 Daniil delivers. 🐙
