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Don’t let Daniil Medvedev’s 6-2 advantage over Jannik Sinner in their eight head-to-head hard-court surface matches fool you.
This one should be a battle.
Medvedev enters this match off the heels of a straight-set loss to Carlos Alcaraz in a match he didn’t need to win, though was still disappointed to lose.
In his 14 indoor hard court matches this year, Medvedev boasts a record of 11-3.
His most recent opponent, Carlos Alcaraz, was able to make the most of his strong net abilities, winning 20 of 25 net points, consistently shortening points up, and denying Medvedev time to hit his angles.
Medvedev’s road to the final will not get any easier, especially considering his opponent, Jannik Sinner, who has been playing the best tennis in the world right now.
The 22-year-old Italian has won 16 of his 17 indoor hard court matchups this year and enters the semi-final undefeated after earning his first ever wins against Holger Rune and Novak Djokovic.
The home crowd favorite has been playing some incredible tennis this week with his powerful groundstrokes and much improved second serve.
While Medvedev owns the head-to-head matchup 6-2, it’s been Sinner who has won the last two matches, both on hard-court surfaces in October.
While Sinner has the slight edge due to form and momentum on the surface right now, one thing to keep an eye on will be how the physicality of this match affects him.
Sinner is coming off back-to-back three-set matches and struggled throughout the second and third sets before beating Holger Rune.
If this match goes the distance, will his play suffer?
Even in that case, Sinner has shown himself again and again this week; no moment is too big for him.
Behind a raucous home crowd, the Italian should be able to navigate his way to his third consecutive win against Medvedev and move on to the ATP Final.
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