INDOSPORT.COM – Daniil Medvedev just won the 2021 National Bank Open tournament or also known as the Canada Masters and Rogers Cup.
This Russian tennis player was in the top party that brought him together with the unranked representative of the United States, Reilly Opelka.
Daniil Medvedev won easily 6-4, 6-3 and became the first Russian champion in this event since Marat Safin in 2000.
After the game, Medvedev admitted he didn’t think he would lock down the title in Canada this year. Also, according to him, the ATP Masters 1000 level is a tough tournament to beat.
Fortunately, this time the stages were lighter as tough competitors such as Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal chose to miss the 2021 National Bank Open.
“I could never even dream of it. In the Masters match, with Djkovic and Nadal, I think this title will be difficult to obtain, “said Medvedev, quoted on the official ATP website.
“Now I have four titles that have been won in five finals. It’s a great achievement. I want to accomplish more and I’m very happy to win in Canada,” added the 24-year-old.
As champion at the National Bank Open 2021, Daniil Medvedev seems to have set foot as a candidate for the “king” of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
As revealed in his post-match interview, he has now won four ATP Masters 1000 titles. Including in Toronto, Canada, in 2021, Medvedev won at Cincinnati 2019, Shanghai 2019 and Paris 2020.
Now, of the nine tournaments, there are five remaining that he has yet to win, namely the Indian Wells Masters, the Miami Open, the Monte-Carlo Masters, the Madrid Open and the Italian Open.
The National Bank Open 2021 title is itself an oasis for Madvedev, who in 2019 was beaten by Rafael Nadal in the final.
“When I played my first Masters final I was very happy to face Rafa. I always did my best, but I lost too easily and too quickly,” he recalls of the Canada Masters 2019 final in Montreal.
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