In a rematch of the 2020 ATP Paris Masters final, second seed Daniil Medvedev will lock horns against the world #4 Alexander Zverev in the semifinal on Saturday at this year’s tournament in the French capital. In his quarterfinal on Friday, Medvedev was up against a tricky and unorthodox opponent in Hugo Gaston. In an entertaining opening set, Medvedev blinked first, double-faulting in the ninth game to hand the southpaw a chance to serve for the set. But the reigning US Open champion wasn’t ready to throw in the towel yet, saving set points to break even.
Gaston, the home-hope, drawing plenty of energy from the passionate home crowd, fought toe-to-toe against the 25-year-old Russian in the opening set tiebreak. Showing creativity, resilience, and willingness to engage in long rallies, the southpaw put on a spectacle in the opening set that lasted for an hour. In the end, Medvedev prevailed 9-7 in the tiebreak to bag the first set, narrowly escaping the scare in a hard-fought set. The second set was less dramatic in comparison to the first. The defending champion eventually managed to get over the line against an upbeat Frenchman. Medvedev won 7-6(7) 6-4 in one hour and 45 minutes to book a spot in his second ATP Paris Masters semifinal.
In the last quarterfinal of the day, last year’s runner-up Zverev managed to get past a hugely impressive Casper Ruud 7-5 6-4 in an hour and 34 minutes on the Centre Court. Following this win over the Norwegian, the 24-year-old German is now on an eight-match winning streak after he won the title in Vienna this past Sunday. Zverev’s serving and his clean striking from the forehand wing were the features of his quality win over Ruud. On Saturday, the 2018 ATP Finals champion will be playing in his 12th Masters 1000 semifinal.
Zverev marginally leads Medvedev 5-4 in their head-head record so far on the tour. The German and the Russian share two wins apiece in their battles on indoor hard courts. While Zverev leads Medvedev, the latter has emerged victorious in their latest three meetings. After dropping the opening set, Medvedev clawed his way back to win the next two to defeat Zverev 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 in last year’s ATP Paris Masters final.
Except for his blip in the Californian desert where he lost to Taylor Fritz and at the US Open, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, Zverev has been relentless on hard courts in the second half of this season. Coming into his semifinal, the young German has manoeuvred through a tougher draw, dropping just a solitary set. The fast indoor conditions will aid Zverev’s huge serving and faster groundstrokes, giving him a slight edge over Medvedev.
Following his US Open triumph, Medvedev was the top seed and one of the heavy favorites heading into Indian Wells Masters. But he fell short against Grigor Dimitrov in their round of 16 clash despite leading the Bulgarian by a set and a break of serve in the second set. The Russian, who appeared a little tentative against Gaston, cannot afford to take his foot off the paddle against a tremendously in-form Zverev in the semifinal.
Against huge-serving Zverev, one can expect Medvedev to position himself deep behind the baseline to return better. Zverev, on the other hand, must resort to an aggressive approach by racing towards the net more often to unsettle Medvedev’s rhythm. Zverev and Medvedev both relish playing on hard courts. Their semifinal clash promises to be a blockbuster affair. Zverev, the Olympic Gold Medallist, and Medvedev, the Grand Slam Champion are having a remarkable season in their unique ways which spices up their semifinal contest even more.
Can Zverev conquer the defending champion to avenge his last year’s defeat in the final or will Medvedev, returning to his best form, halt the German’s eight-match winning streak to stay on course to defend his ATP Paris Masters title?
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