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Daniil Medvedev is the first finalist at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam. A day after dethroning Felix Auger-Aliassime, the Russian stormed over Grigor Dimitrov 6-1, 6-2 in an hour and 21 minutes to secure a place in his 28th ATP final.
Daniil struggled after the last year's Australian Open final, losing nine straight matches against the top-10 rivals and leaving the exclusive group. Medvedev will crack the top-10 again after Rotterdam, showing signs of improvement and hoping to lift the title on Sunday.
Daniil claimed 24 points more than Grigor and had the upper hand from start to finish. The Russian saved four out of five break points, and the Bulgarian failed to follow that pace. Dimitrov dropped 60% of the points in his games and got broken six times from 13 chances offered to his rival.
Medvedev hit a similar number of winners and unforced errors and welcomed over 30 unforced errors from Dimitrov, who could not find the right balance.
Daniil Medvedev dropped only three games against Grigor Dimitrov.
Daniil wasted a break chance in the encounter's first game, and Grigor held with a service winner for 1-0.
The Bulgarian would win only two more games by the end of the clash! Medvedev created three break points in the third game and seized the first after Dimitrov's loose backhand to open a 2-1 gap. The Russian secured the fourth game with a forehand down the line winner and grabbed another break in the next one following the Bulgarian's terrible forehand.
Medvedev saved a break point in game six and held after multiple deuces with an ace to forge a 5-1 advantage. Grigor served to stay in the set in game seven and sprayed a forehand error to get broken for the third straight time and hand the opener to his opponent.
The Russian extended his streak at the start of the second set and grabbed his fourth return game in a row for a 6-1, 2-0 advantage. Grigor survived Daniil's game points in the third game and pulled the break back after the rival's careless backhand.
The Bulgarian leveled the score at 2-2 and gained a boost, pushing strong on the return again in the next one. Daniil came from 40-0 down and grabbed five consecutive points for a hold and a 3-2 lead. Dimitrov lost the ground after that and hit a double fault in game six to fall behind.
Daniil held at love in game seven for 5-2, forcing Grigor to serve to stay in the match. Medvedev earned two match points on the return in game eight and seized the second to book a place in the final, his first since October.