Daniil Medvedev ends title drought with hard-fought win over Corentin Moutet in Almaty Open

Daniil Medvedev has lifted a title after two and a half years, defeating Corentin Moutet in the Almaty Open final 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in a tight match. The Frenchman was looking for the first title of his career, but could not overcome the class of the Russian former World No. 1.

It was a duel between an experienced veteran—Medvedev, who was contesting his 40th career final—against Moutet, who had only two previous final appearances, both ending in defeat. The Russian reaches 21 professional titles, placing him as the 4th active player with the most titles, tied with Marin Cilic and Jannik Sinner.

Medvedev, 29, confirmed the rise he has had since his exit at the US Open. In his last three tournaments, the Russian reached the semi-finals at the ATP 500 Beijing Open and Shanghai Masters, and this week finished as champion in Almaty, breaking a streak of six consecutive losses in finals.

Moutet has finally found consistency in his game this 2025, reaching a final for the second time this season. On his way, he had beaten rivals like Alex Michelsen and Jan-Lennard Struff and was aiming to inaugurate his ATP tour title list. The Frenchman is one of the great talents on the Tour, but he had never quite found regularity in his unconventional playing style.

The start was ideal for Moutet, who secured an opening break and quickly got ahead on the scoreboard. Medvedev took a few minutes to solidify his serve, but managed to keep pace with his opponent and wait for his opportunity. The first chance came when Moutet was serving at 4-3, and a single opportunity was enough for Medvedev to level the match.

Everything seemed destined for a tie-break, but Moutet faltered in the moment of highest pressure, and Medvedev secured his second break in the final part of the set, taking the lead 7-5—after winning five of the previous six games played.

In the second set, Moutet once again started with an advantage with an early break and achieved more consistency with his first serve—going from 58% of points won on first serve in the first set to 76% in the second. Things took a similar turn when Medvedev managed to break back mid-set—again on his first chance—and brought parity at 3-3.

However, it was short-lived, as Moutet quickly reacted with a break straight back and regained the lead. The 26-year-old Frenchman capitalized on his opportunity this time and held on to his serve to close out the second set 6-4, raising the tension in Almaty.

In the third set, Medvedev finally managed to start on the front foot, defending his first service game without major complications. Opportunities came a few minutes later for the Russian, who squandered four break points when he was ahead 2-1. Moutet managed to maintain parity for much of the set, although without significantly threatening Medvedev's solid service games—who won 71% of service points against only 56% for his rival.

The Russian took the lead to 4-3 without either player having secured a break yet. It was at this point that Moutet felt the pressure of the moment and conceded a couple of opportunities to Medvedev, who was effective at the right time again and took the lead. Without hesitation, the former US Open champion held onto his serve and finally closed out the win 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 after two hours and 38 minutes.

Medvedev says goodbye to Almaty with renewed confidence and a new title to his name. This will be a great motivator for the final part of the season, as he ranks 13th in the Race and has a chance to return to the Top-10 in the final part of the season, considering he still has commitments at the Vienna Open and Paris Masters. On the other hand, Moutet guaranteed his first time entering the Top-40 (No. 36 in the live ranking) and will attend the same events as Medvedev—plus the Metz Open—to close the season in three weeks.