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A day after world no. 2 Carlos Alcaraz left the Paris Masters, world no. 3 Daniil Medvedev joined him at the exit door! Daniil experienced a tight 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 loss to Grigor Dimitrov in two hours and 54 minutes, ending his campaign much earlier than expected.
Grigr defeated Alcaraz in Shanghai and notched another notable win in the French capital, squandering six match points before raising his level in the deciding tie break. The Bulgarian claimed 19 points more than the Russian, fending off nine out of 12 break points and stealing Medvedev's serve four times from eight chances.
Dimitrov produced more efficient numbers, firing 45 winners and 47 unforced errors. The Bulgarian landed 32 service winners and played superbly at the net. Medvedev gathered 22 winners and 50 mistakes, struggling to impose his strokes and arguing with the Parisian crowd.
The Russian gave his best in the closing stages, fending off six match points in back-to-back service games before falling in the tie break.
Grigor Dimitrov needed almost three hours to beat Daniil Medvedev in Paris.
Dimitrov made a reliable start, producing two fine holds and breaking Medvedev in the second game for a 3-0 advantage.
The Russian broke back in the fifth game after the Bulgarian's backhand error before losing serve for the second time in the next one, falling 4-2 behind. Grigor served for the set at 5-3 and landed a service winner to wrap up the set in 41 minutes.
Medvedev served well at the start of the second set, claiming five service games in a row and securing a break in game six to forge a 5-2 advantage. The Russian served for the set at 5-3 and lost serve, bringing the Bulgarian back to the positive side.
Grigor worked hard behind the initial shot in games ten and 12, fending off six set points and arranging a tie break. Daniil notched three mini-breaks and painted a backhand down the line winner to grab the breaker 7-4 and force a decider.
Dimitrov started all over and delivered a break in the final set's sixth game, holding in the next one for 5-2. Dimitrov served for the victory at 5-3 and earned four match points. Medvedev saved them and broke back to prolong the action and add more drama.
Daniil served at 5-6 and faced two more match points. He denied them and held, introducing a deciding tie break. Instead of building on that, the Russian experienced two mini-breaks and fell 5-0 behind. Dimitrov fired a service winner at 5-2 for his seventh match point and seized it with a beautiful volley winner at the net for a notable victory.