Medvedev gets in the way of Alcaraz and Jódar in Vienna

Their streak is 18 wins in the last 20 games. The biggest defender of the hard court on the circuit, as well as a declared enemy of clay, is making the most of his journey on his favorite surface, which is now entering a final phase of the indoor season.

Champion in Hangzhou and, just last week, Almaty, he made the semifinals in Beijing, where he ended up disqualified for hitting a spectator with a ball, and Shanghai. Now he is already in the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 in Vienna, a tournament that he will already win in 2022.

Russian is ‘on fire’ Daniel Medvedevmost leader in matches won on hard court this season, 40, after an ‘in extremis’ comeback against the British left-hander Cameron Norrie, 31 years old and number 41, whom he beat for the sixth time in seven duels overcoming a match ball.

The Muscovite won by 4-6, 6-3 and 7-6 (1) in two and a half hours, after saving that point at 5-3 and Norrie’s serve. Medvedev continues to be a threat in Vienna, where he could face Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals.

And he practically has a ticket in his pocket for the ATP Finals in Turin, from November 15 to 22. It is the fourth on the list, after those already classified Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton.

He put himself in the middle with his biggest rivals for one of the five places to be distributed. With 3,760 points he moves away from who currently closes the headline cut, the Spanish Rafa Jodar, with 3,209 and already eliminated in Basel, at the hands of Valentin Vacherot in eighths.

Medvedev survived, for now he has a meeting in the quarterfinals with another veteran, another left-handed player in his path, the Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. The American goes through that section of the painting Tommy Paulwaiting for a rival for this Friday, who will come out of the duel Carlos Alcaraz-Nikoloz Basilashvili.