A rejuvenated Daniil Medvedev recorded his first win of the 2024 ATP Finals after beating Alex de Minaur in the Ilie Nastase Group on Tuesday.
The Russian fourth seed lost his opening game of the season-ending tournament against Taylor Fritz on Sunday but brushed aside De Minaur 6-2, 6-4, leaving the Australian's hopes of reaching the semi-finals all but over.
Medvedev, who was champion in 2020 when he defeated Dominic Thiem in the final, did not face a single break point and broke De Minaur's serve three times at the Inalpi Arena.
The second set was more evenly contested but Medvedev came alive in a crucial ninth game to break serve before going on to seal a 78-minute victory and will take on world No 1 Jannik Sinner in his final group game.
The Italian, who beat tournament debutant De Minaur in his opener, faces Taylor Fritz in Tuesday's late match which is a repeat of the US Open final won by Sinner in September.
Medvedev's tennis and attitude on Tuesday was in stark contrast to Sunday when he looked distracted and disinterested while also earning a penalty point for smashing a courtside microphone.
This time he was fully focused on the job in hand as he made only 10 unforced errors and conceded only nine points on his serve as he extended his record over De Minaur to 7-3.
“I went into this match blocking the noise, even from myself,” said Medvedev, who is making his sixth consecutive appearance at the ATP Finals. “No tantrums. Just block the noise. I really didn’t care what was happening on the court, I just tried to play, and it was a good feeling. Sometimes it’s good to block it [the noise], and I did that well today.
“The more popular you become, the more fans you get, the more haters you get, the more attention you get. Sometimes even the good noise can make you off balance.
“You win everything and people say you’re a god. You lose two matches and people say 'Your career is finished.' Sometimes it’s good to just block it.
“After the last match, I was too tired mentally to fight the way I usually do. [So,] I went into the match [today] just trying to hit some shots, even thinking about next year. What is going to work well today and what’s not. It worked well, so I’m OK with it.”
Meanwhile, reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz's participation in the tournament has been cast into doubt after he pulled out of practice due to illness.
His coach Juan Carlos Ferrera told Spanish media the 21-year-old cut short his session after just five minutes as a chest complaint was making breathing difficult.
Alcaraz is due to play Andrey Rublev on Wednesday having lost to Casper Ruud in his opening match where the four-time Grand Slam winner was clearly struggling having made 34 unforced errors.
