Tennis
Former ATP Finals winner Daniil Medvedev can still hope to reach the semi-finals of the season-ending tournament worth $15.25 million. The Russian defeated Australian tournament debutant Alex de Minaur 6:2 6:4 in Turin on Tuesday and secured his first win in his second group game. The Italian world number one Jannick Sinner celebrated a 6:4 6:4 win against Taylor Fritz (USA).
Medvedev lost his opening match in the “Ilie Nastase” group against Taylor Fritz in two sets. Medvedev’s breaks in the first set were enough to make it 2:1 and 4:1, and he took advantage of the first opportunity to make it 6:2. In the second round, de Minaur held on until 4:4 before he had to give up his decisive service. Medvedev served with the first match point after 80 minutes.
“Today I really didn’t care what happened on the pitch. I just tried to play and it felt good. Sometimes it’s good to block out the noise. “I did well today,” said Medvedev, who appeared much more focused in his second appearance in Turin than in his opening defeat against Fritz.
Showdown with Sinner
At the end of the preliminary round, the fourth in the world rankings will face crowd favorite and local hero Sinner on Thursday. In the head-to-head with the world number one it is 7:7, but Sinner is currently the favorite. The Italian had no problems in the win against Fritz on Tuesday evening in the second game of the day in the “Ilie Nastase” group.
ATP-Finals in Turin
(Italy, $15.25 million, hard court, indoor)
