(Paris) Serbian Novak Djokovic (7e world) joined the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (6e) in the final of the Astana tournament by beating the Russian Daniil Medvedev on Saturday (4e) after giving up, while the two men were one set away 4-6, 7-6 (8/6).
After falling two points short of the match in the tiebreaker, the Russian retired due to an adductor injury which initially surprised the public and even his opponent.
He hinted that he could be away from the courts for a month, which would cast a shadow over his possible presence at the Turin Masters (November 13-20).
“It’s the second time in my life that I have to retire like this because of a stretch,” he said, adding that he “felt a strange ‘pop’ on the second point of the tiebreaker” .
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“I first thought maybe it was a cramp but by the end of that point I was like no, it probably wasn’t a cramp. And during that tiebreaker, I felt like I could play five or ten more points, but not more,” he continued.
“Playing one more set, yes, we can do that, but then we risk missing probably half a season, instead of a month,” he added.
Two intense sets
Medvedev’s retirement ended a high-flying semi-final between the two men, which began with a spectacular first point won by Djokovic thanks to a perfect lob after a long rally.
PHOTO STAS FILIPPOV, ASSOCIATED PRESS Daniel Medvedev
Quickly broken by the Russian, Djokovic immediately reacted to resume the break, before Medvedev took control on the opposing service at 3 everywhere, and won the set helped by his powerful serve and his precise drop shots.
The 21 Grand Slam title-winning Serbian, who has missed a lot of competition this year due to his refusal to get a COVID-19 shot, had a resurgence in the second set, where he had no shots. broken to save.
After leading 4-1 in the tiebreaker, “Djoko” got scared when he saw the Russian come back to 6 all, but finally won the second set, Medvedev then giving up, much to the disappointment of the public who hoped to see a third set.
“It was a very tight match, especially in the second set,” Djokovic said. “I found a way to win the second set, but I’m just sad for the tournament, for the spectators who were enjoying this battle and for Daniil that it ended this way. »
Djokovic will seek to win his second tournament in a row after Tel Aviv on Sunday in the final against Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who scored Andrey Rublev (9e) in the other semi-final 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
PHOTOPAVEL MIKHEYEV, REUTERS Stefanos Tsitsipas
Tsitsipas put an end to the course so far without fault of Rublev, who had not lost a set in Astana and had been expeditious against the Frenchman Adrian Mannarino (51e) in the quarter-finals (6-1, 6-2).
The Greek will play his sixth final of the season on Sunday, for two titles in Mallorca and Monte-Carlo.
For Djokovic, this will be the fifth final. For now, the Serb has three titles (Rome, Wimbledon and Tel Aviv) and a lost final at home in Belgrade.
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