The Canadian Denis Shapovalov lost in the final of the Vienna tennis tournament in three sets of 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 Sunday afternoon against the Russian Daniil Medvedev.
The No. 4 player in the world and the No. 1 seed, Medvedev picked up a second title in 2022, following his triumph in Los Cabos, Mexico last August.
Medvedev took advantage of three double faults and 12 unforced errors from Shapovalov in the third set to save himself with match honors in 2 hours 17 minutes.
He nevertheless needed seven match points, including four on his serve, before he could celebrate his victory.
“I’m really happy,” admitted Medvedev in an interview posted on the ATP website.
“That match was probably the best of the week because Denis was playing really amazing until probably 4-3 in the second set. The level of his game went down a percent or two, maybe, and I was able to use it. It’s one of the most rewarding wins when you know your opponent is constantly on the offensive, but you stay there and do what you can,” Medvedev added.
In addition to beating the Canadian for the fourth consecutive time, in six duels, Medvedev deprived Shapovalov of a second career title and a first since 2019, in Stockholm.
In early October, Shapovalov also reached the final of the tournament in Seoul, South Korea, but lost in straight sets to Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka.
Solid Shapovalov
Shapovalov was the first to break through the opponent’s wall in the first set. After saving a break point in the previous game, the Canadiens broke Medvedev for the first time this week with a volley winner to give themselves a 2-1 lead.
Two games later, against a rival who had conceded just one break chance and dropped no sets all week, Shapovalov made it 4-1 when Medvedev sent a parallel backhand on the outside from the side line.
Medvedev recovered one of these breaks the next game, helped by two double faults and an unforced error from the Canadian on the forehand.
With a 5-4 lead, Shapovalov finally completed this first set in 49 minutes thanks to a winning backhand volley, not without having previously wasted two set points.
Medvedev gets up
The Canadian was the first to falter in the second set after facing two break points in the fourth game. After saving the first, Shapovalov made an unforced error that gave Medvedev a 3-1 lead.
After a frustrating fifth game, in which he was unable to convert just one of the four break points offered to him, Shapovalov brought the game back to even serve with a break in the seventh game.
However, the Canadian lost his service the next game, without even scoring a single point and Medvedev consolidated this break to force a decisive set.
Three unforced errors and a double fault from Shapovalov earned Medvedev a crucial break in service in the third game, giving him a 2-1 lead. Another break, two games later, was to spell Shapovalov’s death knell.
Next week, Medvedev will take part in the Masters 1000 in Paris, which he will try to win for the second time in his career after his triumph in 2020.