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Russian faces Fucsovics in Sofia final on Sunday

Daniil Medvedev has enjoyed a rapid ascent up the ATP Rankings. Thirteen months ago, he had not won an ATP Tour title. Now, he’s a three-time titlist and one victory away from lifting the trophy at the Sofia Open in Bulgaria.

But while the Russian’s rise into the Top 20 of the ATP Rankings has been impressive, he sees this as just the beginning. The 22-year-old is ambitious, and plans to soar even higher.

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“I don’t want to stop at where I am,” said Medvedev, the World No. 16. “I hope to do what I need to be even higher.”

In a way, this run started because Medvedev didn’t get what he wanted. Last January, the Russian desired to compete in Auckland rather than Sydney, because his girlfriend (now wife) had a visa for New Zealand. But Medvedev could not get into the Auckland main draw, so he competed in Sydney qualifying and eventually defeated home favourite Alex de Minaur in the final to capture his first ATP Tour title.

“I think [that win] gave me a big push in the year, even if this push was not straightaway,” Medvedev said. “But I think this meant a lot for the season.”

Medvedev began that event in Sydney as the No. 84 player in the world. But the title gave him confidence that he would carry throughout the year. The 6’5” right-hander lifted his second trophy at the Winston-Salem Open, without dropping a set, and then was victorious at an ATP 500 for the first time, defeating Kei Nishikori to clinch the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships.

Medvedev did not drop a set in the Tokyo main draw, and only one set went past 6-4. Other players who have won that title include Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Stefan Edberg and Ken Rosewall.

“An ATP 500 is definitely a different thing, beating indoor guys like Milos [Raonic], Denis Shapovalov, Kei [Nishikori] at his hometown. It’s something amazing,” Medvedev said. “You never win easy, but doing this with easy scores with the amazing level my game [was at], I’m just really happy with myself and I hope to continue improving.”

The third seed in Sofia says that he made a change that has helped his surge on the ATP Tour. However, it does not involve a particular stroke.

“For me, tennis is about many, many small details, especially at the level where we all are right now,” Medvedev said. “It’s about the physical part of course, the mental part, [and the] tennis part. If you don’t play good tennis you cannot be here.

“Since I was younger I was just thinking about my tennis and I thought I could always come on the court and win if I hit the ball good, so I changed it. I’ve changed myself on the tennis court. That’s where I am right now and I want to only improve.”

Did You Know?
Medvedev qualified for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan in 2017. Three players who competed in that event (Medvedev, Karen Khachanov and Borna Coric) as well as alternate Stefanos Tsitsipas are now inside the Top 20 of the ATP Rankings.

22-year-old Russian picks up fourth ATP Tour title

Daniil Medvedev continued his solid start to 2019 with another outstanding performance at the Sofia Open, defeating Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 6-3 in Sunday's final.

"I was feeling under pressure and really nervous, so I'm really happy that I managed to win the title," said Medvedev. "Marton was playing good and was making some great shots, so I needed to stay present [in] every moment of the match and that's what I did."

The third seed, ranked No. 16 in the ATP Rankings, won 70 per cent of his first-serve points to prevail in 81 minutes. Medvedev was particularly impressive in his return games, winning all but three of his second-serve return points (19/22) against Fucsovics and converting on four of nine break opportunities. He held in 36 of his 40 service games throughout the week (90%).

"Daniil is a very tough player. He's improved a lot and has the potential to break into the Top 10," said Fucsovics. "He was serving well today [and] was very consistent from the baseline. He didn't give me any easy mistakes. This is still one of the best weeks of my career and I'm very happy to be back in the Top 40 again."

Medvedev picked up his first ATP Tour title of 2019 and the fourth of his career, having won three events in 2018 (Sydney, Winston-Salem and Tokyo). He improves to 11-2 on the season.

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The Russian has become a staple of weekend play in ATP Tour events over the past six months. Since the 2018 US Open, Medvedev has reached at least the semi-finals in five of his past nine events and made his maiden appearance in the second week of a Grand Slam at the Australian Open. This is his second appearance in a championship match this season, finishing runner-up in Brisbane (l. to Nishikori).

Medvedev and Fucsovics opened Sunday's final with a series of routine service holds, followed by trading a pair of back-to-back breaks to even the set at 4-4. The Russian slowly wore Fucsovics down with a mix of looping forehands and slice backhands to earn another break in a lengthy service game and a 5-4 lead. He then comfortably closed out the set on his serve in the next game.

A huge passing-shot return gave Medvedev an early break at 1-1 in the second set as he continued to ride the momentum. With the crowd urging him on, Fucsovics found himself with two break points at 2-3 in the second set, but just missed on a forehand winner. Perhaps frustrated at being unable to capitalise on the opportunity, his game dipped slightly and Medvedev pounced. The Russian broke to love and wrapped up the match on an unforced error from Fucsovics.

Fucsovics was appearing in his second ATP Tour final. He captured his maiden ATP Tour title last year in Geneva (d. Gojowczyk).

Medvedev earns 250 ATP Ranking points and €90,390 for his efforts this week. Fucsovics picks up 150 ATP Ranking points and €48,870.