DANIIL MEDVEDEV (RUS) TENNIS - THE US OPEN 2021 - USTA BILLIE JEAN KING TENNIS CENTRE - FLUSHING MEADOWS - NEW YORK CITY - NEW YORK - USA - ATP - WTA - ITF - GRAND SLAM - OPEN - 2021 © TENNIS PHOTO NETWORK
The 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev blew hot and cold during the season but he can be proud of his overall performance in 2022
The Russian tennis pro ended 2021 by reaching three finals in his last four tournaments. This included a win in Flushing Meadows. Fans expected Daniil Medvedev to have a great season in 2022 and he solidified the prediction by progressing to the finals at the Australian Open. He won the first couple of sets but the legendary Rafael Nadal made a monumental comeback to bag his second Australian Open title.
Medvedev went on to take part in the Mexican Open as the top seed and did well to reach the semis. However, his campaign once again ended with a loss to Nadal. Medvedev, however, soared to the top of the ATP rankings for the first time as Novak Djokovic had crashed out of the Dubai Tennis Championships in the quarterfinals. He became the third Russian man to become the world No. 1 after Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin.
Medvedev’s stay at the top of the ATP rankings was short-lived as a defeat in the third round at the BNP Paribas Open put Djokovic at the pinnacle once again. Medvedev would have reclaimed the top spot if he made it to the semis at the Miami Open. However, he lost to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals.
Medvedev announced on April 2 that he would miss the start of the clay court season to recover from a hernia procedure that needed surgery. Medvedev received some unfortunate news on April 20. The All-England Club made a decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing at the upcoming Wimbledon Championships in reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Medvedev returned to the court at the Geneva Open but lost his opening encounter against French veteran Richard Gasquet. Medvedev reclaimed the top spot in the rankings once again at the French Open. He was eliminated in the fourth round but Djokovic’s failure to defend the title helped his cause.
Daniil Medvedev got off to a great start in the grass-court season. He suffered a shocking loss to Tim van Rijthoven in the Libema Open final. In the Halle Open, the 26-year-old lost to Hubert Hurkacz in the final.
Medvedev finally won his first title in 2022 at the Los Cabos Open when he defeated Cameron Norrie in the final. In Montreal, Medvedev was the top seed but he lost to Nick Kyrgios in the round of 32. In the Western & Southern Open, Medvedev lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semis.
Medvedev’s title defense at the US Open ended in the round of 16 as he once again lost to Kyrgios. Medvedev suffered another exit in the round of 16 at the Moselle Open that followed the US Open. In the Astana Open, Medvedev retired during his semi-final clash against Djokovic owing to a leg injury.
The former world No. 1 won his second title of the season by coming out victorious at the Vienna Open. Medvedev defeated Denis Shapovalov to win the title.
After this fine result, Medvedev went on a 4-match losing streak to end the season. After losing to an in-form Alex de Minaur in the round of 32 of the Paris Masters, Medvedev suffered losses in all three of his group-stage matches in the ATP Finals. Medvedev lost to Andrey Rublev, Tsitsipas, and eventual champion Djokovic in the group stages.
Medvedev ended the year with 45 wins and 19 losses and a win percentage of 70.31. He added a couple of titles to his trophy cabinet and finished the year at No. 7 in the rankings.
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