Medvedev struggles on serve as Wawrinka stuns him at 2022 Moselle Open in Metz
ATP
Daniil Medvedev and Stan Wawrinka met already for the fourth time on the ATP Tour, and all of their matches so far started with a surprise.
Their first two matches came back in 2017 and 2019 before the Swiss experienced problems with an injury and a major drop in the rankings. On the other hand, it was before Medvedev won his first Grand Slam title and became the ATP World No. 1 player.
Therefore, Wawrinka was the favorite in both matches, but it was the Russian who triumphed. Then, they met at the Australian Open in 2020, when Medvedev was already the fourth seed but lost to a more experienced opponent.
Now, as the World No. 4 in the ATP Rankings and the first seed at the 2022 Moselle Open in Metz, Medvedev took on Wawrinka again. Everything went well for the Swiss player since the first set.
Although he hit only 38% of his first serves, he won 20 out of 24 points played when he was serving. On the other hand, Medvedev hit five double faults and struggled a lot, which resulted in a 6-4 win for his opponent.
In the second set, both players traded breaks in the second and third games before showing a serving masterclass and not dropping more than one point during any service game in the second set.
Eventually, the set was decided in a tie-break, in which the Swiss player had a match point, but it was the Russian who leveled the score and took the match to the decider.
Yet, after a serving masterclass, fans in Metz saw a set in which both players struggled on their serve. In the third set, Medvedev won only one out of 14 rallies after his second serve and added another five double faults.
That resulted in a win for Wawrinka, who triumphed 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-3 in two hours and 24 minutes.
