WATCH: Novak Djokovic's thunderous roar on match point against Daniil Medvedev
In their third round-robin match of the 2022 ATP Finals, Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev produced high-intensity tennis, pushing each other to their absolute limits. In the end, it was the Serb who had his hands raised as he beat the Russian 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(2) in three hours and 11 minutes to remain undefeated in Turin so far.
Medvedev, on the other hand, played extremely well in his three matches but had to return home winless. The 26-year-old lost all of his matches in the third-set tie-break. The two players came face-to-face for the 12th time on the tour, with Djokovic improving his head-to-head record against Medvedev to 8-4.
The 21-time Grand Slam winner struggled physically at the end of the second set where he was seen trembling while sitting on his bench. The fifth-ranked Russian broke him to go 5-4 up in the deciding set but failed to close out the match as Djokovic broke back and eventually won in the tie-break.
When the 35-year-old hit a forehand winner on match point, he let out an extended grunt, with the crowd immediately joining him in the celebration. He is just two matches away from a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title. Roger Federer holds the current record.
While the Serb gears up to face Taylor Fritz of America in the semifinals, the winner will meet either Norway's Casper Ruud or Russia's Andrey Rublev in the summit clash on Sunday.
"He is an amazing player, I have a lot of respect for him" - Novak Djokovic on Daniil Medvedev
In an on-court interview on Friday, Novak Djokovic praised Daniil Medvedev, calling him "one of his greatest rivals." Although the Serb had already qualified for the semifinals after his first two matches, he didn't want to get complacent in the third.
“This match against one of the greatest rivals I have today is very important, regardless of the fact that I had qualified already,” he said. “I really wanted to win. Daniil and I have had some battles in the past and I knew coming into the match today that it was going to be his last match of the season and he wouldn't want to finish with a loss."
"Being able to find the last drop of energy to come back into the match. At 4-5, I managed to read his serve and anticipate well and got myself in a good position. Tough three matches for him, losing 7-6 in the third in all three matches. It's not easy, but he is an amazing player. I have a lot of respect for him and what a great battle," he added.