Flashback Canada: Daniil Medvedev wins all-Russian clash against Karen Khachanov

In the first-ever all-Russian Masters 1000 semi-final in Montreal last year, the 8th seed Daniil Medvedev toppled the 6th seed Karen Khachanov 6-1, 7-6 in an hour and 23 minutes for the first final at this level! Karen and Daniil have known each other since the early junior days, battling under the Russian flag at the ITF events and making the top-10 to write the history of Russian tennis in recent months. After losing to Nick Kyrgios in a tight final in Washington last week, Daniil had been in great form in Montreal, ousting four rivals in less than four and a half hours and advancing into the biggest final of his career. They split the first two matches in 2017 and 2018 while Medvedev stood as the better player in this one. He lost serve twice, delivering four breaks on the other side to control the scoreboard, leading 6-1, 5-4 and serving for the victory before Karen pulled the break back to extend the encounter until the tie break.

In the end, Daniil had 19 winners and 22 unforced errors, leaving Karen on a 17-29 ratio and taming the rival's initial shot nicely to forge the advantage in the shortest, mid-range and most extended exchanges to seal the deal in straight sets. Medvedev was the only player on the court in the opening set, taking 27 out of 37 points and dropping three points behind the initial shot to mount the pressure on Khachanov, who couldn't deal with it. The 8th seed was off to a flying start, holding at love in the first game and breaking Karen at 15 in game two after a double fault from his compatriot. Unable to find the rhythm, Khachanov barely survived another break in game four, falling 5-1 down after a double fault. Serving for the set, Daniil blasted four service winners to take the opener 6-1 in 23 minutes, hoping for more of the same for the rest of the encounter.

In Montreal last year, Daniil Medvedev defeated Karen Khachanov in straight sets.

He broke in the third game of the second set following a loose forehand from Khachanov, who finally did more on the return in the next one to break back and level the score at 2-2. After four comfortable holds on both sides, Medvedev broke at love in the ninth game but instead of serving out for the victory, he got broken a few minutes later to keep Karen in contention until the tie break. It was a close one, and Daniil gained a 7-6 advantage when Khachanov's forehand landed long, sealing the deal after the 29-shot rally and a lucky net cord winner that propelled him into the title match against Rafael Nadal.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3g5I8Ph