Rotterdam, Feb 20 (BNA): Daniil Medvedev hopes his run to win the title in Rotterdam and return to the top 10 in the world rankings will be the perfect springboard for the rest of the season after last month’s disappointing Australian Open.
Medvedev had fallen to 12th after his third-round defeat by Sebastian Korda at Melbourne Park, but the 27-year-old Russian rediscovered his rhythm in Rotterdam last week and beat Yannick Senner 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday. The first title of 2023, Reuters reports.
“It’s great, because it’s still the beginning of the year,” said Medvedev, who is now ranked eighth in the world. “It’s my third tournament of the year and I already have a title. Last year I probably needed 12 or something. I’m beating great players, playing great here.
“In Adelaide I was playing great but I lost to Novak Djokovic. The Australian Open was really disappointing… Mentally, it’s hard to come back after being out of the top 10 and losing in the third round of a Grand Slam you were hoping to win.
“I am happy that I have found my form and I am looking forward to the next tournament and hope to continue on this path.”
Sinner, the Montpellier champion, seemed on his way to winning consecutive titles after achieving a tight opening set, but Medvedev was not denied the sixteenth rank.
“It was a tough match mentally for both of us,” Medvedev said. “Yannick was on top of me, especially in the early part of the first set. I managed to come back even though I was playing worse than him. That probably gave me some time to find my rhythm.
“I started playing a little bit more offensively on a couple of shots and was able to work it out well at the beginning of the second set. I was able to keep mentally pushing him down until the end of the match.”
FKN