Daniil Medvedev will be playing in the fifth consecutive ATP final and it's thanks to his superb form in 2023.
This year, the 27-year-old played sensational tennis at almost every event that he joined. Probably, only his third-round loss at the Australian Open can be considered a disappointment as he went on to win 19 consecutive matches and 3 titles after that. But his winning streak was stopped by Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells, but the Russian started another streak at the 2023 Miami Open.
He played three dominant matches in Miami, but the hardest test on his way to the final was his semifinal match against a good friend Karen Khachanov. The 26-year-old Russian was playing superb tennis in Miami, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas along the way, and he met the fellow Russian for the fourth time on the ATP Tour. He won one of the three previous meetings and wanted to add another victory in Miami.
Both players know each other very well and that's why a very long rallies were expected, although the two have a very aggressive play style. Khachanov threatened to break his opponent already in the first game of the match, but Medvedev didn't allow that.
In the eighth game of the first set, the former world no. 1 got a crucial break, but he was immediately broken back despite having a set point. Eventually, the set had to be decided in a tie-break, and more-experienced Medvedev took it 7-5.
The second and the third set were quite similar. Both players showed that no one is perfect and had one moment during which they played a far below their standard and it proved to be costly for both.
However, while Medvedev's loss of rhythm cost him only a loss of the second match, Khachanov's weaker moment in the fourth game of the third set cost him the match.
After two hours and 19 minutes, Medvedev won the match 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-3 to reach the 2023 Miami Open final where he will await the winner of the match between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
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