It felt like a Grand Slam final as the intensity was at its peak.
But no, nothing was at stake in this contested encounter between Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Daniil Medvedev of Russia. If it’s just 200 points in the standings and the $500,000 that came with the win (which is nothing by the way).
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Djokovic, the seventh favorite for these ATP Finals, qualified immediately for the semifinals and was sure to finish at the top of the red group. Medvedev, seeded fourth, had known for two days that he would leave Turin at the end of the match.
However, the 35-year-old Serbian gave everything to win. And he did it, triumphing 6-3, 6-7 (5) and 7-6 (2) in over 3h 10min of play on Friday, after watching the Russian serve for the match.
Win against the best
Why this burst of energy for the 35-year-old veteran, already sure of facing the American Taylor Fritz (8th) in the semifinals on Saturday, around 8 am Quebec time?
A Fritz who was enjoying a day off, after beating Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime on Thursday.
For honor, above all, known as “Djoko”, who would equal, with a triumph on Sunday, the record of six championships at the end of the season held by the Swiss Roger Federer.
“At this stage of my career, every match like this is a golden opportunity to snatch victory from one of the best players in the world,” Djokovic stressed at a press conference.
Not too motivated
Medvedev was surprised to see such a determined opponent from the very beginning of the confrontation.
“Before the match I wasn’t too motivated. But during the game I realized that it was 100%. So I said to myself: “Okay, let’s play, let’s have fun!” said the Russian, who left Italy with a sad record of three defeats.
“I don’t know if I could have given up and played [en demi-finale], raised the Serbian. I didn’t even think about it. I really wanted to win.”
However, the effort of the former world number 1 was not without consequences. After the second set, Djokovic looked exhausted on the bench. His right hand was shaking. He buried his head in the towel, then emptied a bottle of water over his head.
The “Djoker” didn’t want to talk about his discomfort in detail, so as not to give too much information to his future opponent. He stated that it was “exhaustion from the long rallies and the duration of this game”.
