London: Daniil Medvedev is enjoying the ATP Finals a lot better in his second appearance.
Medvedev secured a spot in the semifinals of the season-ending tournament by dominating five-time champion Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-3 Wednesday for his second straight win of the group stage.
Medvedev, who lost all three of his group matches last year on his tournament debut, has now beaten Djokovic in three of their last four meetings. The top-ranked Serb can still advance if he beats 2018 champion Alexander Zverev in a winner-takes-all match on Friday.
Zverev kept his tournament hopes alive with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Diego Schwartzman earlier Wednesday.
“He was just better, no question about it,” Djokovic said.
“Just not a great match from my side. I thought I could have and should have done better, but credit to him for playing on a high level.”
Medvedev is looking a lot more comfortable at the O2 Arena than last year, when his three losses included a collapse against Rafael Nadal in a match where he led 5-1 in the third set.
“You always have doubts in your head, like maybe next year is going to be (like) last year in London, I’m going to go out there and be tight, again, I’m not going to show anything in the Masters finals,” Medvedev said.
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