Net Profit: Tsitsipas Sinks Medvedev To Reach First Cincinnati Final

Want to blunt Daniil Medvedev’s dazzling deep-court defence? The go-to tactic is seemingly a simple one — get to the net — but it’s much easier plotted than executed against the World No. 1. Stefanos Tsitsipas used the old-school strategy to great effect in a Saturday semi-final victory at the Western & Southern Open.

The 10th installment of the Medvedev vs. Tsitsipas rivalry saw the Greek emerge a 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-3 winner as the fourth seed used his all-court game to earn a hugely satisfying result against one of his most challenging rivals. With the help of 36 well-timed net approaches, Tsitsipas closed the gap to 3-7 in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series.

“There were some difficult shots I had to play a bit more,” the 24-year-old said of his measured game plan. “A few short balls I really took advantage of and came in. A lot of courageous serve and volleys, approaches to the net that definitely gave me that great win today.”

Two sets of high-quality tennis — both won by Tsitsipas — bookended a bizarre middle stanza in which both men lost focus for alternating stretches. The Greek saved a set point in the first-set tie-break as he won its final three points to lead, but quickly fell behind 0-5 in the second thanks to some untimely double faults.

He avoided the bagel and then some, getting to 0/40 as Medvedev served at 5-3, but could not convert and instead took his momentum into the final set.

“I knew I had to sign up for a difficult task, third set, it wasn’t going to be easy,” Tsitsipas said post-match. “He made it very physical and really demanding for me. I just took advantage of some of his missed first serves. I think I had a couple opportunities where it seemed to be going towards to my side.”

Tsitsipas claimed the lone break point of the final set in its sixth game, courtesy of a Medvedev double fault, and cooly served out the match to love with the help of strong net play — a formula he leaned on time and again throughout the two-hour, 23-minute match.

“He kept missing a lot of first serves consecutively and that gave me some time to think of my next move a little bit clearer,” Tsitsipas said, alluding to his opponent’s 49 per cent first-serve percentage. “He gave me a double fault on break point, which I think was very important moment for me psychologically to give my best shot. I was a few games away and I was very calm and concentrated in every single task that was given to me.”

The fourth seed won 75 per cent (27/36) of his net points in the match, showing great patience as he worked his way into attack in the rallies. While he hit some world-class volleys, his knack for well-timed approaches left him with a straightforward task on many of his trips to the frontcourt — at least as simple as it can be against the rangy Medvedev, who flashed his elite retrieving skills with a stunning forehand pass on the fullest of full stretches as he chased an early break in the final set.

The INSIGHTS In Attack statistics underline Tsitsipas’ devastating offensive output in the final set. The Greek turned the screws with his dexterity at net and a barrage of punishing forehands as he played 26 per cent of his shots from attack in the decider. 

Playing in his third straight Cincinnati semi-final, the Greek passed that stage for the first time to advance to his second Masters 1000 hard-court final (Toronto 2018). He will face Borna Coric, a 6-3, 6-4 winner against Cameron Norrie, in Sunday’s title match.

Tsitsipas leads the ATP Tour in matches won (46) and Masters 1000 matches won (19) this season.

Did You Know?
All four of Tsitsipas’ hard-court titles have come indoors on the ATP Tour, including his triumph at the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals. An outdoor title in Cincinnati would be his first hard-court Masters 1000 crown and his third overall trophy at that level (Monte Carlo, 2021-22).