ATP Tour

Medvedev one match from snapping title drought in Almaty

Daniil Medvedev’s late-season charge will continue into the championship match at the Almaty Open, where he booked his spot in his first hard-court final since last year.

The second seed rallied past Australian qualifier James Duckworth 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday and simultaneously strengthened his push to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the seventh straight season. Medvedev, who has backed up semi-final runs in Beijing and Shanghai with a strong showing in Almaty, is 13th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.

Medvedev is aiming to win his first tour-level title since he triumphed at the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome in 2023. The former World No. 1 has since gone 0-6 in finals. He faces Corentin Moutet, who edged Alex Michelsen 7-5, 6-4.

Milestone for Meddy 💪@DaniilMedwed is the first player born since 1990 to reach 40 Tour-level finals!@AlmatyOpen_KZ | #AlmatyOpen pic.twitter.com/0MECCt50Fy

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 18, 2025

“I think the level was incredible today, from both me and my opponent,” said Medvedev, who improved to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Duckworth. “In the tie-break, I could have played better, but it happens. Throughout the match, there were some amazing points from both of us, so I’m really happy to be able to win this match.”

Despite a slightly passive approach in the first-set tie-break, during which he squandered two set points, Medvedev remained patient and began to find his range as the match wore on. He was particularly effective on serve, firing 15 aces and winning 85 per cent (47/55) of first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

By reaching his 40th tour-level final, Medvedev became the second active man after Novak Djokovic (143) to achieve that feat.

Watch Extended Highlights of semi-final action in Almaty:

Duckworth was aiming to reach his second final at the Kazakhstani ATP 250 after he advanced to that stage in 2021 when it was held in Astana. He came through qualifying and will leave Almaty having risen 30 spots to No. 108 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

Medvedev is tied 1-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Moutet after the Frenchman won their latest meeting in three sets in Washington this year. Their duel in Almaty will mark Moutet’s third ATP Tour final, and second this year after Mallorca.

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With his two-hour, 12-minute semi-final victory, Moutet is up five spots to a career-high No. 36 in the PIF ATP Rankings. The 26-year-old has tallied 30 wins for the first time in his career, becoming the first Frenchman to do so in 2025.

In their championship-match clash in Almaty, Moutet will have to use his trademark flair and variety to disrupt Medvedev’s rhythm. However, the 20-time tour-level champion has been displaying some of his best tennis across the week alongside new coaches Thomas Johansson and Rohan Goetzke.