Halle:
World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev has sealed his spot in the final of the 2022 Halle Open and now set to fight for the trophy with fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz.
Medvedev defeated home favourite Oscar Otte on Saturday and he is currently on an impressive grass-court form as the top seed powered past Otte to reach his second consecutive ATP Tour final. The World No. 1 fended off a set point in the opening set before rallying to a 7-6(3), 6-3 semi-final victory in his first ATP meeting with World No. 51 Otte.
“I didn’t play well in Halle last year, so I’m happy that this year I managed to raise my level,” said Medvedev after his semi-final victory. “As I’ve always said, I love playing on grass, so I’m happy to show to myself that I’m capable of being in the final of one of the greatest tournaments, especially on grass, and of course, I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
It is a second tour-level final for Medvedev in as many weeks on the grass, after he appeared in the championship match in ‘s-Hertogenbosch just seven days ago.
Last year in Halle, Medevedev fell in the first round to another German, Jan-Lennard Struff, on tournament debut. Since that defeat, the World No. 1 is 14-2 on grass, a tally which includes a title run at the 2021 Mallorca Championships.
In Sunday’s final, Medvedev will face fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz, who clawed past wild card Nick Kyrgios in the second semi-final of the day. Despite his run-in Halle coming to an end, Otte will be pleased with his performance this week in his homeland. The 28-year-old has now reached three tour-level semi-finals in 2022, and his latest run lifts him to No. 37 in the ATP Live Rankings.
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