ATP Finals: Andrey Rublev battles past Daniil Medvedev

Turin, November 14

Andrey Rublev squandered seven set points early in his meeting with fellow Russian Daniil Medvedev before roaring back to seal a 6-7(7) 6-3 7-6(7) opening victory at the ATP Finals here today.

Rublev said his sixth career meeting with Medvedev reminded him of his encounter with the world No. 5 at the 2020 US Open quarterfinals, where he lost in straight sets, and the 25-year-old was determined to overcome his poor start.

But having shaken off the disappointment of squandering several chances to take the opening set, Rublev hit back with 25 winners in the next two and held his nerve in the deciding tie-break to seal the victory on his fifth match point.

On Sunday, Taylor Fritz stunned Rafa Nadal 7-6(3) 6-1 to make a winning debut while Norway’s Casper Ruud kick-started the round-robin stage with a win over Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Spanish top seed Nadal arrived in Italy having only competed in one singles match since his fourth-round US Open loss two months ago and his lack of recent competition showed as he was unable to keep pace with Fritz as the match wore on.

“I need more matches to play at this kind of level, even if I am practising well, much better than how I am competing, without a doubt. That’s normal,” Nadal said.

Canadian Auger-Aliassime has been in sublime form at the end of the season, winning three tournaments in a row before a semifinal run at the Paris Masters, but was not at his best while falling 7-6(4) 6-4 to Ruud. — Reuters