World number five Daniil Medvedev won his eighth ATP title as he beat Alexander Zverev 5-7 6-4 6-1 in the Paris Masters final.
German Zverev, who won two titles in as many weeks in Cologne last month and beat Rafael Nadal in Saturday’s semi-finals, took an early advantage.
But Russian third seed Medvedev rallied to win in two hours seven minutes.
It was only in his second win in seven meetings with Zverev, adding to his 2019 Shanghai Masters final.
Medvedev, 24, sealed a place in his first final since that win in China 13 months ago, with a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win over 10th seed Milos Raonic on Saturday.
And after a closely fought opening two sets against 23-year-old Zverev, ranked seven in the world, he raced into a 4-0 lead in the decider and soon wrapped up an impressive victory.
What a night it turned out to be for the World No.5 Daniil Medvedev. He won his first Rolex Paris Masters title by defeating World No.7 Alexander Zverev. The Russian player broke the winning streak of Zverev despite losing the first set in the finals. The final scoreline of the match read 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 in the favour of the resurgent Russian.
In the post-match interview, Medvedev revealed something stunning and intriguing. The Russian disclosed how he almost ended up born in France instead of Moscow.
“It (moving to France) was my parents’ decision but I was born (in Moscow) a month before,” said Medvedev.
It was apparent that Medvedev’s parents had made their mind to go to France. However, before they could actually go, he was born in Moscow, changing the whole scenario. Imagine how different things would have been if the Russian prodigy would have actually been born in France.
The Rolex Paris Masters 2020 winner further added that he would have loved to play for France or Kazakhstan. However, the 24-year-old admitted that he had no regrets now and started laughing.
“When you are a national player, you always have the possibility of going to play for France or in Kazhakstan. But I have no regrets about it,” added Daniil Medvedev.
Things would have been certainly different if Daniil Medvedev was born in France. But, it was a nice tale of how a certain decision completely changed the direction of the rest of his journey.
The Paris Bercy title was not only essential for Medvedev’s career, but also for his self-confidence. He did play well this year but could not perform in the later stages of the tournament. However, this time, he looked in great touch and delivered some fine shots. Fans hope to see him lift his maiden Grand Slam title soon and continue the legacy of the ‘Big Three’.
