Tennis: will the Russian “god of mischief” displace Federer?
The ATP Finals is the tournament that ends the tennis year, said Stuart Fraser in The Times. And 11 years ago – when it was first held in London – the surprise winner was a Russian: Nikolay Davydenko. Now, as the tournament’s residency at London’s O2 Arena draws to an end (next stop is Turin), another Russian has triumphed. In Sunday’s final, 24-yearold Daniil Medvedev conquered Dominic Thiem in a thrilling contest, turning the table on the World No. 3 “in some style” to finish a 4-6 7-6 6-4 winner.
The win capped a remarkable week for Medvedev, who beat both Rafael Nadal, the World No. 2, and top-ranked Novak Djokovic en route to the final, said Kevin Mitchell in The Guardian. It was a clean sweep of the world’s top three – something never previously achieved in the event’s 50-year history. Until someone proves otherwise, “Medvedev is the king of tennis”.
The final was a “true contrast of styles”, said Simon Briggs in The Daily Telegraph. If you take the Marvel movies as an analogy, you “could cast Thiem as Thor – the powerhouse with the mighty biceps”, and Medvedev as Loki, the god of mischief. Thiem “gives the impression “of a man playing on instinct”, while Medvedev is “more of a strategic grandmaster”. His is an awkward game, designed to confuse.
To focus on the ATP Finals is to get the sense that the men’s game is finally shifting away from the likes of Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer, said Briggs. Look at the succession of “likely lads” who’ve won the tournament: Alexander Zverev in 2018, Stefanos Tsitsipas last year. Yet none has gone on to dominate the sport; instead, they’ve been “squashed by the resilience and nous” of the “Big Three”. Will Medvedev finally bring their reign to a close? For now, that remains an open question.