ATP Finals: Medvedev gets first victory, hit Depay’s celebration

Daniil Medvedev further outlined his credentials as one of the Tour’s sharpest tacticians on Tuesday at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

The 28-year-old former US Open champion and fourth seed produced an expertly measured performance to prevail 6-2, 6-4 over Alex de Minaur and get up and running at the season finale.

Medvedev, the 2020 champion, replicated football star Memphis Depay’s iconic celebration after he had defeated De Minaur in a chess-like battle to improve to 7-3 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry.

“I went into this match blocking the noise, even from myself,” said Medvedev, who is making his sixth consecutive appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals. “I really didn’t care what was happening on the court, I just tried to play, and it was a good feeling. Sometimes it’s good to block it [the noise], and I did that well today.

“After the last match, I was too tired mentally to fight the way I usually do. [So,] I went into the match [today] just trying to hit some shots, even thinking about next year. What is going to work well today and what’s not. It worked well, so I’m okay with it.”

Medvedev’s 78-minute triumph means that Taylor Fritz could qualify for the semi-finals if he overcomes World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in their Tuesday evening clash. Medvedev will seek to bolster his hopes of progressing from the John Newcombe Group when he takes on the Italian on Thursday.

The loss is a blow to De Minaur’s hopes of advancing to the knockout stage on his debut appearance in Turin. The 25-year-old, who will face Fritz in his final round-robin match, is now 0-2 in the group.