Published 06:50 IST, September 22nd 2019
Medvedev becomes fifth player to reach five consecutive finals
Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev garnered appreciation and received raging roars from the crowd as the 23-year-old made his fifth consecutive final.
Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev garnered appreciation and received raging roars from the crowd as the 23-year-old made his fifth consecutive final at the St. Petersburg Open upon beating Belarusian qualifier Egor Gerasimov 7-5, 7-5. Medvedev, who broke in the 11th game of the opener went on to close the match after 91 minutes after he broke again in the 11th game, a while after the two players exchanged breaks midway through the second set.
Just 5th active player to reach five consecutive finals
Standing at number 4 in the world rankings, he also went on to become just the fifth active player to reach five consecutive finals. He joined the list after Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. Medvedev is now all set to make an effort and reach for the win in his third ATP Tour title of the season (Sofia, Cincinnati) on Sunday. He will be competing against Croatian Borna Coric, who beat Portugal's Joao Sousa 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1 to make his first ATP Tour final of 2019.
He shared his happiness with the media
Talking to local media, he said, "I'm extremely happy to be in my first final in my home country," while also adding, "I came here to try to win the tournament, that's what I'm doing... I'm looking forward to [the final]. Tough opponent, and hopefully a great fight tomorrow."
Coric, while leading their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 4-1, including their past three meetings, has won their past seven sets. The players had also met at the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in 2017 where Coric had gone up to won in four sets. Medvedev is on the way to create history. He has already won 23 of his past 26 matches in a stretch that includes the four consecutive finals he made during the North American hard-court swing in Washington, Montreal, Cincinnati and at the US Open.
In another news, Medvedev pushed World No. 2 Rafael Nadal to a classic five-set final in Flushing Meadows almost two weeks ago, on September 8. This Sunday will see him back in another final where he would try to become the first Russian to win the St. Petersburg Open title since Mikhail Youzhny in 2004.
Updated 07:43 IST, September 22nd 2019