Medvedev takes Rotterdam title over Sinner, returns to top 10

Daniil Medvedev won his first title of the season and just his third since the 2021 U.S. Open when he defeated Jannik Sinner 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 in the final of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament on Sunday afternoon.

Medvedev, who had been struggling for the most part since squandering a two-set lead over Rafael Nadal in the 2022 Australian Open final, dropped to No. 12 in the rankings last month after peaking at No. 1. That stay outside the top 10 won’t last long, as the 27-year-old will climb to eighth on Monday.

It wasn’t easy against Sinner, however. Looking for back-to-back titles after triumphing last week in Montpellier, the 21-year-old Italian got off to a fast start. He gave back an early break midway through the first set but recovered it when it mattered most with Medvedev serving at 5-6.

From then on, though, it was all Medvedev. The Russian did not get broken the rest of the way, saving all four of the break points he faced in sets two and three. He converted four of 10 break chances over the same stretch to pull away from Sinner, prevailing after two hours and 29 minutes.

It was an especially sweet result for Medvedev given his recent slump and his past struggles in Rotterdam. The 16-time ATP title winner reached the quarterfinals in 2018 and the semis in 2019 but suffered first-round losses in both 2020 and 2021. He skipped the tournament last season on the heels of his Aussie Open loss to Nadal.

“I first came here in [2018] and I straightaway loved it,” Medvedev told the crowd. “I love coming back here. The last two times I played here were terrible (first-round losses) and I’m happy to make it better this year.”

“Daniil, congrats to you and your team (on) winning your first title of this season,” Sinner said during the trophy ceremony. “I think you’re going to win many more this year, so I wish you all the best…. It has been two positive weeks for me. I played many matches and I’m very proud.”

Sinner is entered in Marseille next week, while Medvedev will take his talents to Doha.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.