ATP Finals: Medvedev happy with perfect performance in victory over Nadal

Daniil Medvedev has reflected on his ATP Finals victory over Rafael Nadal and admitted that he had to be perfect to beat the tough Spaniard.  

The Russian defeated Nadal  3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 on Saturday night to reach the ATP Finals championship match for the first time.

One year ago, he led the Spaniard 5-1 in the third set and had a match point, but could not win. 

Late into Saturday night in London however, Medvedev ended Nadal’s 71-match winning streak after taking the opening set to remain undefeated at this year’s season finale. 

The fourth seed needed two hours and 36 minutes to earn his first ATP victory against Nadal. 

“To beat Rafa, you need everything: [a] good backhand, good forehand working [that] day,” Medvedev told the ATP Tour website.

“Mentally you need to be super strong, because he’s there [for] all the points.” Medvedev and his opponent in Sunday’s final, Dominic Thiem, both defeated world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Nadal in a remarkable week. Only three players had previously done that at the ATP Finals, and the last time was 10 years ago, when Roger Federer did it. The top four players in the FedEx ATP Rankings reached the semi-finals of the season finale for the first time in 16 years.  Medvedev was happy to defy the odds. He had seen a post on social media recognising the four semi-finalists that caught his attention. 

“The comment [that] got the most likes was, ‘My mind is saying Dominic and Daniil will be in the final and my heart goes for Rafa and Novak,’” Medvedev recalled.

“This time the mind won. It’s great that we managed to beat two [of the] biggest players in the history of sport. 

“I think it’s super for tennis. We are starting to get to take our marks. Dominic won his first Slam [and he is] playing unbelievable tennis right now. [It’s] not going to be easy. Hopefully I can play good like this. I for sure can cause him some troubles.”