Alexander Zverev of Germany competes during the men's singles semifinal match against Matteo Berrettini of Italy at 2019 ATP Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai, east China, on Oct. 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Wu Gang)
Alexander Zverev of Germany and Daniil Medvedev of Russia will fight for their first ever Shanghai Masters title in the final after beating their respective opponent in the semis.
SHANGHAI, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Russian rising star Daniil Medvedev powered into his third ATP Masters final of the season in Shanghai after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 7-6 (5), 7-5 here on Saturday.
The U.S. Open finalist will face a tougher challenge in the final, taking on German talent Alexander Zverev, whom the Russian has lost to in all their four previous meetings.
"He's different this year," Zverev said about Medvedev. "The last few months he's probably the best player in the world. He's definitely playing the best tennis of his life."
Daniil Medvedev of Russia reacts during the men's singles semifinal match against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece at 2019 ATP Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai, east China, on Oct. 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Wu Gang)
The 23-year-old Medvedev has established himself as the biggest star outside the Big Three - Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer - in the year of 2019 as he now has a Tour-leading 58 wins and three-time Masters finals appearances including a winning showdown over David Goffin of Belgium in Cincinnati. Besides, Shanghai is his stellar sixth final in a row.
Zverev, the fifth seed, topped 11th-seeded Matteo Berrettini of Italy 6-3, 6-4 in the other semifinal. And the 22-year-old also kept his hope of appearing at the ATP Finals in London alive with this win. He is the title holder of the year-end tournament.
"Being in a massive final here in Shanghai is very special for me because it's my first final in China, in general," Zverev said after the match.
"This was a much different match than playing against Roger. I take a lot of positives from this into the final tomorrow."
Alexander Zverev of Germany celebrates during the men's singles semifinal match against Matteo Berrettini of Italy at 2019 ATP Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai, east China, on Oct. 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Wu Gang)
Berrettini saved three break points at 4-4 in the second set, but failed in the fourth and gave Zverev the chance to serve for the match. The German player didn't miss it and fired an ace to secure the victory in 68 minutes.
Greek player Tsitsipas, who knocked out world No. 1 Djokovic on Friday, still secured a place in the year's ATP Finals despite the defeat to Medvedev in the semifinals.
"He (Tsitsipas) was playing great match, I think, and I think he was a bit unlucky because he was playing quite surprising for me," Medvedev said after his semifinal win over Tsitsipas.
Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece competes during the men's singles semifinal match against Daniil Medvedev of Russia at 2019 ATP Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai, east China, on Oct. 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Wu Gang)
The 21-year-old Tsitsipas missed a set point in the 12th game of the first set before committed two errors in the tiebreak in which he lost 7-5.
Third-seeded Medvedev played consistently in the second set as he broke twice in the third and 12th games. Tsitsipas also broke in the 10th game, when Medvedev was serving for the match, to level the set 5-5.
"When I was serving for the match he changed it again, surprised me again," Medvedev said. "I made some mistakes that I shouldn't do, but I'm really glad to be in the final after a tough match."
"It's a great achievement. I'm proud of myself and hopefully I get the win tomorrow," Medvedev added. ■
