Resurgent Medvedev wins first title for 882 days
A resurgent Daniil Medvedev claims his first title for 882 days with victory over Corentin Moutet in the Almaty Open final.
A resurgent Daniil Medvedev claims his first title for 882 days with victory over Corentin Moutet in the Almaty Open final.
Daniil Medvedev’s title drought is over! Eight hundred and eighty-two days after triumphing in Rome, the 29-year-old returned to the winner’s circle at the Almaty Open on Sunday, when he beat Frenchman Corentin Moutet, who was chasing his maiden tour-level title.
Since his victory in the Italian capital in 2023, the former World No. 1 Medvedev had lost finals at the US Open, Beijing, Vienna, Australian Open, Indian Wells and Halle. However, he ensured there would be no more final heartbreak in Almaty and is now just the second active male player to win 19 hard-court titles, joining Novak Djokovic (71).
In an entertaining final at the ATP 250 event, Medvedev coped with Moutet’s wizardry and moved forward effectively to back up his flat groundstrokes and close out points. With his hard-fought, two-hour, 29-minute 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 victory, Medvedev captured his 21st tour-level crown. All of Medvedev’s titles have come at different events.
“It is great. I was not super happy with how I played in some moments of the match, but to win feels amazing. In the most important points I played good,” Medvedev said. “The last game was incredible and I am happy to win the title. It continues my funny story of 21 titles in 21 different cities.”
Medvedev also boosted his faint Nitto ATP Finals hopes by winning in Almaty. The former year-end champion is up three spots to 12th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, trailing eighth-placed Lorenzo Musetti by 875 points. The Italian is in the final qualification spot.
Medvedev’s title run in Almaty is his latest success under new coaches Thomas Johansson and Rohan Goetzke, having reached semi-finals in Beijing and Shanghai. The 29-year-old started working with both following the US Open, and he holds a 12-3 record since New York, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
Moutet was competing in his third tour-level final and was trying to become the ninth first-time winner in 2025. The Frenchman, who did not drop a set en route to the final, is up five spots to No. 36 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and is set to rise to a career-high on Monday.
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