Revived Medvedev upbeat to face Novak

LONDON • Daniil Medvedev's ATP Finals debut last year proved to be a chastening experience as he suffered three defeats but the Russian feels he has grown as a player since then.

On Monday, the world No. 4 made his mark with an opening win against 2018 champion Alexander Zverev of Germany.

His 6-3, 6-4 win put him joint top of the Tokyo 1970 group alongside world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who earlier trounced Argentinian debutant Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-2.

Medvedev will face Djokovic today and will take heart from the fact that the Serb also lost all three of his group matches on his debut in 2007 but returned a year later to beat Russia's Nikolay Davydenko to claim the title in Shanghai.

"I actually didn't know that he (Djokovic) was 0-3 in his first appearance," Medvedev, who also beat Zverev to win the Paris Masters earlier this month, told reporters.

"I also saw today that he's won 12 consecutive opening (group) matches at the ATP finals so hopefully, I can do the same."

Djokovic has a 4-2 advantage in head-to-head clashes with Medvedev but a loss for either player will not be decisive.

Schwartzman takes on Zverev today and another defeat for either - their career meetings are tied at two wins apiece - will seal an exit from the season finale.

Zverev believes he will be heading home unless he can raise his game, saying: "Since the restart it was one of my worst matches."

Yesterday, last year's losing finalist Dominic Thiem edged out 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-4) for his second win in the London 2020 group.

REUTERS

Day 4: StarHub Ch211, 10pm & tomorrow, 4am