Medvedev withdraws against Djokovic, the Serbian joins Tsitsipas in Astana Open final

Hard-fought duels

Novak won the second set in a tie-break and Daniil Medvedev went to the umpire’s chair to indicate his withdrawal. It was a pain in the adductor muscles that forced the Russian to withdraw after losing the second set. Everything had started well for him with the win of the first set (6-4). He won the Serb’s first set twice, showing some solidity on his serve with 5 aces and 73% of first serves.

But the man with 21 Grand Slam titles raised his game in the next set, sometimes giving tennis lessons (great variety in his shots, frightening precision at the net and on the baseline, steely defences, etc.), thus giving the public a fierce fight. The Serb did not stop showing his conquering character, until he won the tie-break by 8 points to 6.

However, he did not have the opportunity to continue his comeback as Daniil Medvedev decided to retire after suffering from what appeared to be a discomfort in his adductor muscles.

The final will be between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic. The Greek defeated world number 9 Andrey Rublev earlier in the day. Again, a very competitive duel with a twist of fate. The world number 6 managed to turn the match around after losing the first set. The key was his serve. Only 56% of first shots in the first set, compared to 71 and 72% in the next two sets.