World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev didn’t do well in Halle last year but this year he is enjoying a strong run as he has been through to the final. On Saturday, first-seeded Medvedev saw off Germany’s Oscar Otte 7-6 (3) 6-3 to progress into his first Halle final.
In Halle final, Medvedev plays fifth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz. “I didn’t play well in Halle last year, so I’m happy that this year I managed to raise my level,” Medvedev said after the win, per the ATP website.
“As I’ve always said, I love playing on grass, so I’m happy to show to myself that I’m capable of being in the final of one of the greatest tournaments, especially on grass, and of course I’m looking forward to tomorrow”.
Medvedev on beating Otte
Medvedev was struggling on his serve early on as Otte broke the Russian in the eighth game to open a 5-3 lead. In the ninth game, Otte had a set point on his serve, but he failed to realize as Medvedev broke back and eventually forced a tie-break.
In the tie-break, Medvedev was 2-3 down, before winning the next five points to seal the first set. After winning the first set, Medvedev earned the lone break of the second set in the sixth game and then held on to his serve the rest of the match to clinch a straight-set win.
“I was not playing good enough in the beginning of the match,” Medvedev reflected. “I was missing too many shots. The serve was actually not that bad, but I was missing way too many shots. I managed to change it by the end of the first set, especially in the tie-break.
That’s when I started to miss less, play more aggressive and get depth on my ball. Second set I just continued throughout, and it was enough to break him one time and get the second set”.
