Could the third time be the charm for Daniil Medvedev in Marseille?
In his third main draw appearance at the Open 13 Provence, the Russian star will have a chance to win his first title at the ATP 250. Medvedev led Matthew Ebden 6-4, 3-0, 40/15 when the Australian retired due to injury.
It was a competitive match in the early going, with Ebden’s aggressive play and frequent serve-and-volleying putting the top seed off his game at times. But Medvedev, who saved three break points in the opener, broke for 5-4 and never looked back.
After that game, Ebden left the court for a medical timeout, and his movement was severely limited from there. The qualifier, who is No. 287 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, was the lowest-ranked semi-finalist in tournament history by nearly 100 spots.
Medvedev will play a home favourite, Ugo Humbert or Pierre-Hugues Herbert, on Sunday for the title. The Russian is pursuing his first individual title of the season after leading his country to ATP Cup glory in February.
Did You Know?
Medvedev will climb to a career-high No. 2 in the FedEx ATP Rankings on Monday, becoming the first player outside the Big Four — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray — to hold a top two spot since July 2005 (Lleyton Hewitt).