The air of nothing, Daniil Medvedev is in the final of the Rolex Paris Masters. After taking out Kevin Anderson and Alex De Minaur and crushing Diego Schwartzman, the 24-year-old Russian and number three seed in the tournament defeated Canadian Milos Raonic – in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (4) – Friday faller from Ugo Humbert.
After a balanced start to the match, the 2019 US Open finalist made the break at 3-2. Imperial on his faceoffs (four points lost in the first set), the adopted Monegasque was never worried to conclude with a perfect stolen serve.
In the second set, the future world number four (he will overtake the Swiss Roger Federer on Monday in the standings, stopped since February), who remained on two defeats in the second round in as many participations, was a little less dominant.
More aggressive, more precise, more tactically fair by combining backhand slice and forehand offset, Raonic got three break points at 4-3. One saved by Medvedev on an ace, the other two by suffocating the Canadian on two suffocating rallies …
Nadal or Zverev for the last step
And Raonic, seeded number ten, ended up cracking at 5-5 on two unforced errors while he was leading 40-15… In the next game, Medvedev however missed the boat. Back from 0-40 to 40A thanks to three huge first balls, Gilles Cervara’s protégé finally conceded the decisive game on a forehand acceleration in the corridor.
In the tie-break, the Russian quickly took off (4-0). And unlike the day before against Humbert, where he had come back from 1-5 before saving two match points, Raonic had to surrender on a last smash.
Sunday, on the deserted central court of the Accor Arena, behind closed doors, Medvedev will play his first final of the season and the fourth of his Masters 1000 career.
The Russian has already won the Cincinnati and Shanghai tournaments in 2019. That year, he also ran into Rafael Nadal in the last march in Canada. He could quickly find the Spaniard, who faces the German Alexander Zverev in the other semi-final.
Article original de: www.leparisien.fr
