Preview Almaty Open Final: Daniil Medvedev seeks redemption as Moutet chases maiden trophy

Everything is ready for the ATP 250 Almaty Open final, to be played this Sunday, October 19th, at Almaty Arena. It marks Daniil Medvedev's return to his second final of the season. The former World No. 1 will be the favorite against the eccentric Frenchman Corentin Moutet, who is seeking his first professional title.

The 2021 US Open champion is looking to claim another title, which would be his 21st professional title and 9th at an ATP 250 level. He defeated James Duckworth in three sets in the semi-finals, while Moutet—who is in the third final of his career—comes from eliminating the young American Alex Michelsen.

For a while now, Daniil Medvedev has lost prominence on the Tour and has struggled to go deep in the tournaments he plays. After being one of the most consistent players on the tour for several years, accumulating a total of 20 titles in 39 finals played, the Russian has dropped in the rankings and currently sits at World No. 18, besides having only played one final so far this year—a defeat to Alexander Bublik at the Halle Open four months ago.

Medvedev had been showing great form in the Asian Swing, reaching the semi-finals at the China Open and Shanghai Masters. Upon his arrival in Almaty, he has capitalized on his favorite status to advance rounds without too many complications, with victories over Adam Walton (7-5, 7-6), Fabian Marozsan (7-5, 6-2), and James Duckworth (6-7, 6-3, 6-2).

This will be a great opportunity for Medvedev to lift a title for the first time in over two years, with his last win coming at the Rome Open back in May 2023. Since then, the Russian has fallen in six consecutive finals—five of them on hardcourts.

One of the eccentric talents on the Tour, Moutet has found some consistency this season and reached the third final of his career. The 26-year-old entered the top-40 for the first time in his career amid a great year, in which he reached the Mallorca final on grass-courts a few months ago, only to lose to Tallon Griekspoor.

Moutet brings an intrepid and surprising game, in which he is not afraid to alternate underarm serves and some elegant drop shots with a particularly skillful hand. Precisely his unusual style of play has brought him good results this season, and in Almaty, he has been impeccable in reaching the final, not conceding any sets.

The 8th seed overcame Bernard Tomic (6-1, 7-6), Alexander Shevchenko (7-5, 6-3), Jan-Lennard Struff (6-4, 7-5), and Alex Michelsen in the semi-finals (7-5, 6-4). The Frenchman has not been entirely consistent with his serve throughout the tournament, but he has been notable on return, with 15 breaks in his favor and only 4 against.

Medvedev and Moutet have two previous meetings, with the H2H standing at 1-1: the first on grass courts at Mallorca 2021—an easy win for the Russian—while the last time was just a couple of months ago in the DC Open quarter-finals, where Moutet surprisingly turned the score around to secure the victory 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.

In that last meeting—at the start of the North American hardcourt swing—Medvedev failed to capitalize on an early lead and was plagued by errors, including 10 double faults and only a 51% first serve percentage, far from the Frenchman's 65% first serve, who took the win while battling cramps and saving six break points against him in the third set to hold onto the advantage.

The realities are immensely different between a player seeking his 21st professional title (in his 40th final) and the Frenchman who is looking for the first of his career, in only his third final so far.