Daniil Medvedev won the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle on Thursday, just six days after defeating Ilya Ivashka in's-Hertogenbosch.
Top seed Medvedev survived another tough first set against the World No. 42, but he was too strong in the end, winning 7-6(4), 6-3 at the ATP 500 event in northwestern Germany.
Medvedev was happy to win another high-quality match against Ivashka, who was looking for his fourth quarter-final of the season on the Halle grass. "He is a great player," said Medvedev after he improved his lead in the pair's ATP Head to Head series to 3-1. "He had a lot of bad luck with injuries at the beginning of the season. At the end of last season he was playing really great tennis.”
The World No. 1's journey was far from straightforward. Ivashka came out firing in OWL Arena, striking cleanly through the ball to get the better of his opponent. Medvedev's ability to find large serves at vital periods proved crucial, just as it did in his first-round victory over David Goffin. At 4-5, he fended off three set points to stay in the first set before winning it in a tie-break. Medvedev was more at ease in the second set, when a series of superbly placed passing shots were the highlight of a one-hour, 36-minute triumph that improved his grass career record to 30-15.