The Baseline Player of the Week: Daniil Medvedev

When Daniil Medvedev won his third ATP Masters 1000 title, it was more than just raising a trophy. After defeating Alexander Zverev, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, in Paris on Sunday night, the Russian sent a message to the rest of the tour that he will be a formidable foe at the ATP World Tour Finals next week.

Zverev may have stopped Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, but it was Medvedev who powered through two hours of intense tennis to win the trophy.

“I was playing really good this tournament, especially today," he said. "After the first set, I could have given up. Sacha was serving well. But I stayed in there and, in just one moment, I raised my level higher and higher, and that broke him down a little bit."

This was Medvedev's first final and title of the 2020 season, and his first final in Bercy. Zverev's head-to-head record against the Russian is still strong at 5-2. The pair had last met at the 2019 ATP Finals (with Zverev winning in straight sets), and fans could see a repeat when the year-end finals kicks off in London on Sunday.

Check out the latest episode of the TENNIS.com Podcast with Maria Sakkari: