Russian tennis player Andrei Rublev defeated compatriot Daniil Medvedev in the group stage of the ATP Finals. In Turin, No. 7-6 (7) 6-3 7-6 (7) became No. 7 in the world after more than 2.5 hours of play.
In the first set, Rublev led 5-3, but Medvedev managed to pull out the tiebreaker. Medvedev again fell behind and 6-2 Rublev had four set points. However, Medvedev fought back, getting no fewer than seven set points and winning the set. In the second set, Rublev did not let his compatriot, who is higher in the standings, return.
The third set was tied and another tie-break should have been the deciding factor. Rublev scored his fifth point in the game, which he finished with a driving forehand and lay on the track out of joy.
Also from the red group in the ATP Finals are Serbian Novak Djokovic and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas. They will face each other on Monday.
The green group includes Spain’s Rafael Nadal, Norway’s Casper Rudd, Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz from the United States. Nadal lost his first group stage match against Fritz on Sunday and Ruud beat Auger Aliassime.
The year-end tournament for the top eight players in 2022 runs for one week. The tournament was won last year by German Alexander Zverev, who suffered a serious ankle injury at Roland Garros this spring and has not played since.
