On the
third day of the World Tennis League, the finalists of the team tournament were
determined.
Taylor Fritz secured a significant victory over
Daniil Medvedev
with a score of 6-3, reviving Team Falcons' hopes of reaching the final. With
this win, the American earned his first triumph in the tournament after
previous defeats against Casper Ruud (1-6) and Grigor Dimitrov (3-6).
Medvedev
expressed surprise at the level displayed by Fritz on the third day and
humorously commented that the world No. 10 was far from this form in the
previous days.
Former
world No. 1 engaged in a doubles showdown alongside Andrey Rublev, securing a
victory over Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas with a score of 7-6(3). On
the second day, he faced a defeat in the match against Hubert Hurkacz with a
score of 7-6(4). In the closing moments of the second day, Medvedev played the
super shoot-out tie-break, and this time, Medvedev clinched the win, giving the
series to his team.
Once again,
Medvedev faced a setback in his men’s singles match, this time against Taylor
Fritz, and he left a message for his opponent at the net: “Why today? I saw you
play yesterday and the day before, and it was not like that,” the 2021 US Open
champion said.
Medvedev leads Eagles to victory
Nevertheless,
the players went into the definitive overtime to settle the series. This time,
without too many difficulties, Medvedev secured the victory for the second
consecutive day in the decisive point, giving the win to Team Eagles (22-18).
With the
round-robin results determined, the final will take place on Saturday, December
24, between the Eagles and the Kites. The former comprises Aryna Sabalenka,
Paula Badosa, Grigor Dimitrov, and Lloyd Harris (Tsitsipas started the
tournament but withdrew on the second day). On the other side, Medvedev's team
features his compatriots Andrey Rublev and the youngstar Mirra Andreeva, along
with the 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.