Moreover, the first triumph happened when practically no one expected a breakthrough from Daniel.

Medvedev returned after failure

Medvedev and Novak Djokovic developed especially interesting storylines at the 2020 ATP Final Tournament held in London. The legendary Serb sought to equal his eternal rival Roger Federer (6) in terms of the number of victories in the final championships. Moreover, the Swiss himself could not interfere with Djokovic due to injury.

Medvedev was in a revengeful mood: at his debut Final Tournament in 2019, he lost all three matches in the group stage and was even forced to take a break from performing.

In 2020, the Russian was no longer a debutant and did not experience the pressure that prevented him a year earlier. He tore through his opponents in the group stage, defeating not only Alexander Zverev and Diego Schwartzman, but also Djokovic himself. Due to the defeat from Medvedev, the Serb entered the semi-finals from second place and fought with the leader of the other group, Dominic Thiem, for the right to play in the decisive match.

Daniil Medvedev / Photo: © Frey/TPN / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Nadal is Medvedev’s main antagonist

The Russian ended up with Rafael Nadal and got the opportunity to defeat his evil genius.

“Over the past 18 months, the Russian has become the main force in men’s tennis, but during this time the Spaniard unwittingly became his main tormentor, punishing one of the young players for trying to join the tennis aristocracy and giving the 24-year-old athlete more than one sleepless night,” the journalist wrote Eurosport’s Paul Hassall.

Medvedev indeed had many reasons to feel sporting anger towards Nadal. The Spaniard stripped the Russian of his titles twice in a year. First, Rafael won the final of the tournament in Montreal, and then won at the same stage at the US Open 2019. In addition, Nadal inflicted a defeat on Medvedev at the 2019 Final Tournament, which haunted the Russian.

“I’ll be honest, for about a week or two I was really disappointed with this match. Beating Rafael Nadal and things like that would give me confidence in myself and in my career. This happens in tennis, that’s for sure. “I have to learn a lesson and, on the other hand, forget about it, because this is a match that I should have won,” Medvedev recalled on the eve of the semi-final.

The confidence that the Russian demonstrated in a conversation with reporters, he transferred to the court. However, Nadal was determined to remain Daniil’s undefeated opponent. The first set ended in favor of the Spaniard, but then the 24-year-old Russian made a heroic comeback and snatched a ticket to the final. After the decisive blow to the ball in the final rally, Medvedev did not wildly celebrate the victory, but only grinned modestly, as if he could not believe his triumph.

Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal / Photo: © John Walton – PA Images / Contributor / PA Images / Gettyimages.ru

Next, Medvedev had to meet Dominic Thiem, who sensationally knocked out Djokovic. This final was a complete surprise, because even before the start of the tournament it was Nadal and Djokovic who were considered the favorites. The young Russian considered this a great event for tennis, and not a mistake by the experts.

Historical ending

The layouts ahead of the final, held at the O2 Arena, looked merciless for Medvedev. Thiem lost only once to his opponent in four matches. In addition, only four tennis players in history managed to defeat the three leaders of the ATP rankings on the way to the title: Boris Becker, Djokovic and David Nalbandian.

At the beginning of the final, Daniil got a chance to make a break, but missed two break points, and with the score 2:2, Dominic caught on to the game on his opponent’s serve and was able to take the lead with a break. Having gained the advantage, the Austrian brought the set to victory – 6:4. In the second set, the opponents mostly confidently took games on their serve, earning only one break point each. As a result, it came to a tiebreaker, where Thiem made a lot of mistakes, and Medvedev won seven draws in a row – 7:6 (7:2).

In the third set, Medvedev established a stable service game and, after a break with the score 2:2, was careful with his games. Tim tried desperately to get back into the game, but couldn’t. The Russian won the longest final of the ATP Final Championship in history. The opponents spent 2 hours and 43 minutes on the court.

Daniil Medvedev / Photo: © John Walton – PA Images / Contributor / PA Images / Gettyimages.ru

Having won the main title in his career at that time, Medvedev again did not even smile, as if he had conducted a regular training session. Later, the Russian admitted to reporters that this was just his trick.

“A lot of people like it, some don’t, but that’s how I feel… When there are huge crowds around, when you win a big title or big matches against big opponents and you’re not celebrating, you really have the opportunity to look around and feel all the energy that’s there.” around,” Medvedev said.

By winning the final, Medvedev became the second athlete from Russia after Nikolay Davydenko (2009) to win a title at the ATP Finals. In 2023, he had a chance to win the prestigious tournament for the second time, but in the semifinals Medvedev was stopped by Italian Jannik Sinner.