Sixth seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia brushed aside Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-1 6-2 in the first semifinal of the ATP ABN Amro Open in Rotterdam on Saturday. The match was over within two hours as Medvedev remained on course for his first title in more than a year. The 27-year-old Russian will take on Jannik Sinner in the final.
Daniil Medvedev Demolishes Grigor Dimitrov in Rotterdam
Medvedev’s lateral movement allowed him to defend superbly:
Dimitrov made Medvedev move from side to side with from the very beginning, However, the Russian showed exactly how good a mover he was on a tennis court by retrieving the ball repeatedly with his outstanding lateral movement.
Medvedev’s cause was also helped by the slowness of the surface. The Russian won six consecutive games in the first set after Dimitrov had held his serve in the opening game.
Dimitrov was a bit insipid in his approach:
Dimitrov struggled to cause any problem to Medvedev with his backhand throughout the match. On most of the occasions, the Bulgarian opted for backhand slices or drop shots, most of which either hit the net or were easily chased down by an onrushing Medvedev.
In the second set, Dimitrov started hitting his regular backhand more often, but ended up committing a lot of unforced errors. Medvedev broke in the very first game of the set, but Dimitrov broke back to level the score at 2-2.
Medvedev then turned on the heat by winning four consecutive games to finish the match. It was an brilliant performance by the Russians on the day.
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey USAToday
