Top seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia beat Denis Shapovalov of Canada 4-6 6-3 6-2 in the final of the Vienna Open on Sunday. The match lasted for two hours and 16 minutes. It was the 26-year-old Russian’s 15th career ATP title as he looked in great touch ahead of the Paris Masters and ATP tour finals.
We will now take a look at three keys to the match:
Three keys to Daniil Medvedev’s win over Denis Shapovalov in the Vienna Open final
#1. Shapovalov used his drop shots and volleys extensively in the first set:
Shapovalov decided to attack from the outset and tried to drag Medvedev into the net repeatedly by playing drop shots off his forehand. He then proceeded to finish the points with subsequent volleys. However, Medvedev managed to chase down a few balls with his excellent foot speed and win points.
Still, it was Shapovalov who managed to get the decisive break in the third game of the first set and never got broken himself to win it. He hit yet another volley winner on the set point to draw the first blood.
#2. Medvedev came back strong with a few great passing shots:
Medvedev, however, was not to be disheartened by the reversal in the first set and bounced back strongly in the second. Shapovalov once again managed to break the Russian, but got broken twice himself to hand the advantage to the latter.
Shapovalov played the angles very well and hit a number of crosscourt and inside-out winners with his forehand. However, Medvedev came up with a few wonderful running passing shots to stun the Canadian, who kept rushing the net in his attempt to shorten the rallies.
#3. Medvedev raised his level to walk away with the final set:
Medvedev improved the quality of his serve as the match progressed and won a few easy points with it. He broke Shapovalov twice in the final set to move towards a convincing win. The Russian again hit a few wonderful passes and looked unbeatable at times in the baseline exchanges.
The Russian won 97 points to Shapovalov’s 81 in the match and was the deserving winner in the end. His movement and the quality of his groundstrokes remained top-notch in the last two sets as Shapovalov yet again failed to win a title.
Main Photo from Getty.
