Taylor Fritz beats Daniil Medvedev in 2022 Diriyah Tennis Cup, will take home a million dollars

Taylor Fritz claimed victory against defending champion Daniil Medvedev at the 2022 Diriyah Tennis Cup in Saudi Arabia.

The 25-year-old won in straight sets, with a 7-6(5) 7-6(3) win in an hour and 52 minutes.

Medvedev managed six break points in the first set but was not able to convert any of them.

Still, he hit ten aces and overall had a strong showing, but Fritz just had the ability to respond to what was thrown his way, finishing the match with nine aces of his own.

The American also won crucial points in the tiebreaks, which proved to be the difference in the end.

He will take home and will take home a million dollars for the win, while Medvedev will receive $500,000 as the other finalist.

“First off, congrats to Daniil for a great tournament,” Fritz said after lifting the cup in front of the fans at the match.

“Last time we played, he won, [and] he told me that I was the better player in the first set, and it’s kind of reverse this time around. He was the better player for the match, and I was very lucky to kind of just scrape out some of these big points and get through it.

Medvedev also spoke after the match, saying: “First off, congrats to Taylor. I felt like it was an amazing match. Congrats to you and your team. Great match.

“Next time, I am definitely going to try and be the first one saving break points because I think it is important in our [matches]. Looking forward to [more] great matches against you.

The 26-year-old also thanked his team and jokingly said to them: “Hopefully, next year there will be more victories and [fewer] runner-ups. Thanks for being here with me, and of course, thanks to everyone who was watching from home.”

Eurosport expert Mats Wilander also gave his thoughts after the final: “I enjoyed it obviously very much. You don’t really have any expectations, so that was incredible.

“The guys that are playing here, the field, is unbelievable. The intensity level is really high. They are playing for a lot of money.

“This is going to be a tournament that sticks around for a long time.”

When asked about his expectations for the upcoming season, he said: “This is probably one of the more interesting years in men’s tennis in a very, very long time with Carlos Alcarez at nineteen years old, number one in the world and Rafa Nadal at 37-years-old at number two. Then you have Novak Djokovic hungrier than ever. There are also so many players in the middle who can win Grand Slams. I have never experienced a year when there are more players that I think can win a Grand Slam than 2023.”

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