Resurgent Daniil Medvedev Wins First Title in Nearly 30 Months
Nineteen of Daniil Medvedev's twenty-one titles have been achieved on hardcourt
A comeback Daniil Medvedev secured his maiden trophy for 882 days with a win over Frenchman Moutet in the Almaty Open final.
Medvedev, a former world number one, has experienced a challenging year, winning just a single victory at the big events and experiencing a difficult moment at the American major.
The player's inconsistency on the tennis tour - and issues with his serving in specific - led to him dropping out of the top ten and finally separating with long-term mentor Gilles Cervara.
Now working with Johansson and Goetzke, Medvedev has steadily progressed in the last few weeks - culminating in a closely contested 7-5 4-6 6-3 victory over challenger Corentin Moutet.
This represents Medvedev's maiden title after the Rome competition and maiden on a hard court after that period of that year.
The win also means Medvedev has won twenty-one titles at 21 different competitions.
"For the first time I'm at a tournament with my two daughters simultaneously, so to secure a championship is particularly special," said tennis professional the champion.
"This victory is in tribute of my younger daughter her name, because the first title I achieved when my first daughter her name was born was for her."
The athlete, the past champion, had lost his previous six title deciders, including in the German tournament previously this season.
His defensive play style and regular outbursts on the playing surface had prompted commentators to doubt if his skill to play at the highest level was over.
Yet the player has altered his approach in the last few weeks, making an effort to approach the net and play positively, reinforced by an improved serve.
He fought back from a break down in the initial set against the challenging Moutet, winning four of the concluding five points to gain the advantage.
Both players swapped service breaks in the following set before Moutet, bidding for his first tour title, took control to force a third set.
Moutet rescued 4 initial break points in a tight deciding set before the champion broke to 15 to serve for the match.
Appropriately, Medvedev clinched victory with a shot at the net area, with his opponent incapable to handle a volley after over two and a half hours.
