ATP Finals 2022: Andrey Rublev downs Daniil Medvedev in marathon 3-setter
Andrey Rublev scored one of the biggest wins of his career on Monday, defeating Daniil Medvedev in three sets in his opener at the 2022 ATP Finals. After losing the first set in a close tiebreaker that he should have wrapped up rather comfortably, the Russian held his nerves to close out the contest 6(7)-7, 6-3, 7-6(7), needing five match points before he could finally put an end to Medvedev's charge.
Rublev and Medvedev exchanged several rallies of the highest order on the night, racking up the winners with disdain. While the former ended the match with 34 winners to his name, Medvedev managed to score 44, while both players hit 32 unforced errors.
RUBLEV DELIVERS!!!! 🇷🇺
After an effortful battle, Andrey Rublev defeats former no. 1 Medvedev to claim the first victory of his #NittoATPFinals.
Daniil won the 1st set after saving 7 SPs but Rublev didn't give up and won set two and three to claim his 17th top 10 win. ⚡️ https://t.co/8vNj4OX1N8
In the encounter that lasted just over 2 hours and 30 minutes, Medvedev was the better serve, sending in 24 aces as compared to his compatriot's eight. At the same time, he also had six double faults to his name, while Rublev hit only one.
The World No. 5 won 80% of his first serve points (70/87) and only 36% (13/36) of second serve points. Andrey Rublev, on the other hand, won 83% (58/70) of his first serve points and 57% (16/28) of his second serve points. When it came to break points, Medvedev saved six out of nine, getting broken once in the first set and twice in the second set. Rublev, meanwhile, faced only two break points on the night, one of which he lost in the opening set.
Overall, the 25-year-old won 114 points when compared to Medvedev's 107, a margin that aptly represented how closely the match was contested. Thanks to this win, Rublev now holds the provisional top spot in the Red Group until Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic meet later in the second session.
Andrey Rublev now has a 2-4 head-to-head against Daniil Medvedev
With the victory on Monday at the 2022 ATP Finals, Andrey Rublev has now closed the gap on Daniil Medvedev in their head-to-head, which is now 4-2 in the latter's favor. However, both of their most recent encounters have gone to Rublev, who also won the last time the duo faced off at the Cincinnati Open last year.
Rublev was seen by many as the least likely player to reach the knockouts from his group, but the win against Medvedev will have changed that perception without a doubt. On the other hand, Medvedev now needs to beat two former champions in Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas to book his place in the semifinals.