19 of Daniil Medvedev's twenty-one victories have been earned on hard courts
A resurgent Daniil Medvedev won his first trophy for 882 days with a win over Corentin Moutet in the Almaty Open championship match.
The athlete, a former top-ranked player, has had a torrid season, winning just a single victory at the major tournaments and undergoing a setback at the New York tournament.
His inconsistency on the tennis tour - and struggles with his service game in especial - led to him exiting of the top ten and ultimately splitting with long-term trainer Gilles Cervara.
Now collaborating with Thomas Johansson and Goetzke, the tennis star has steadily progressed in the last few weeks - peaking in a hard-fought three-set victory over challenger Corentin Moutet.
This marks his first trophy after the Rome competition and first on a hardcourt since spring of that year.
Victory also indicates the Russian has won twenty-one championships at twenty-one various competitions.
"For the first time I am participating in a event with my both daughters together, so to win a title is especially meaningful," commented ranked player the champion.
"This championship is in dedication of my second daughter her name, because the initial championship I achieved when my first daughter Alisa was born was for her."
Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, had been defeated in his previous six championship matches, featuring in that event previously this season.
Medvedev's counter-punching play style and frequent emotional displays on the playing surface had led commentators to question if his ability to perform at the top level was concluded.
But the player has altered his approach in recent weeks, attempting to approach the net and play assertively, backed up by an better serve.
He fought back from a break down in the first set against the challenging opponent, taking four of the last five points to gain the advantage.
The pair traded breaks in the second set before Moutet, striving for his first tour victory, seized the initiative to force a decider.
He rescued 4 initial break points in a competitive third set before the Russian won the break to fifteen to secure the win.
Appropriately, he clinched the title with a rally at the net, with Moutet unable to control a shot after over two and a half hours.
