Keep a cool head, play the big points well. Daniil Medvedev took two of the most basic principles of winning tennis to their logical extreme as he began the defence of his ATP Finals title with a 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-4 victory over Hubert Hurkacz in Turin.
Pushed all the way by Hurkacz three months ago at the Montreal Masters, where he needed a final-set tiebreak to avenge his five-set defeat to the Pole at Wimbledon, Medvedev was doubtless under no illusions about the scale of the challenge posed by his big-serving opponent in the lightning-fast conditions at the Pala Alpitour. Even so, when he found himself a set down having barely put a foot wrong, the Russian must have wondered what more he could do to break the resistance of a man who marked his debut at the season-ending event with a performance of remarkable poise and assurance.
Medvedev had served immaculately, reaching the tiebreak without facing a single break point, and committed just four unforced errors. Hurkacz, however, not only matched those numbers but also showed a greater willingness to force the issue, attacking the net regularly. Some lovely reflex volleying earned Hurkacz the early advantage in the breaker, and although Medvedev quickly recovered the mini-break, a deftly angled effort at the net gave the Pole the platform for what proved a decisive breakthrough.
It was a recipe for frustration, but the phlegmatic Medvedev was not about to hit the panic button. Instead, minor tactical adjustments were the order of the day, the Russian adopting a position closer to the baseline and showing a greater willingness to take his chances at the net. He was soon rewarded. With Hurkacz serving at 0-1, Medvedev pounced on the Pole’s second serve to fashion two break points, the second of which he converted after a deep backhand forced an error. That was enough to earn Medvedev the set and, having hit upon the winning formula, he wasted no time in implementing it again at the start of the decider, returning with relentless consistency to pile on the pressure. Down 15-40 once more, Hurkacz saved the first break point with an ace, only to be undone by a searing forehand return that set up Medvedev for an easy overhead.
“It was a very tight match,” said Medvedev. “I think a lot of matches are going to be like this, because it’s a super-fast surface. As you saw, I had zero break points to save, yet managed to lose a set. We played three sets in two hours, which is really fast. I’m just happy that, in the two games in the match where I had break points, I managed to break him. That was the only key to the match, because everything was going so fast that you cannot think, you cannot put tactics in place, you just need to try to put one more ball in court than him.”
And so Medvedev won, taking care of business on his own serve to ensure that Hurkacz never had a chance to break, while making the most of his own chances in the only two games where he held break points. “Daniil’s an amazing player and he plays great tennis for the whole match,” said Hurkacz. “He doesn’t have dips in his game, that makes him such a tough opponent.”
The evening session brought together another duo not noted for their timidity with ball in hand, with former champion Alexander Zverev taking on home favourite Matteo Berrettini. For a set, all went to script. Zverev banged down 10 aces, Berrettini five, and with neither man able to convert what few opportunities came their way – most notably Berrettini, who twice held a set point on the German’s serve in the twelfth game – the opening set culminated with a tiebreak. Roared on by the locals, Berrettini opened up a 5-3 lead only to be slowly reeled in by Zverev, who fired a superb forehand return on to the baseline to clinch the breaker 9-7 on his third set point.
A thoroughly entertaining contest took a cruel twist early in the second set, however, as Berrettini suffered an abdominal injury. The Italian, who was sidelined for two months by a similar issue following this year’s Australian Open, was in obvious distress as he turned to his support box before taking a lengthy medical timeout. He attempted to play one further point, lashing a forehand wide before slowly making his way to the net with his head in his hands. With Zverev leading 7-6 (9-7), 1-0, his evening – and possibly his tournament – was over.
“It’s probably the worst day that I had on a tennis court in my life,” said Berrettini, who added that he was unsure whether the injury was the same one that afflicted him earlier in the year.
“The atmosphere was one of the best that I ever felt in my life and that’s why probably I feel so bad right now. The thought of not finishing the match, that I wasn’t able to finish the match, is killing me.
“So it’s just really tough to face it. Obviously, I really hope it’s nothing bad, but today I couldn’t play, I couldn’t finish it, and I really wanted to. I really wanted to enjoy every second, that’s what we said at the beginning with my team, and the worst thing that could happen, happened.”