CALVIA, June 25, 2021
Daniil Medvedev advanced to his first grass-court final by reaching the title match of the Mallorca Championships. The top seed of the ATP 250 tournament in Santa Ponca, Calvia, rallied from a set down to overcome fourth favourite Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain in the semi-finals 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
In front of 1,700 spectators on a sunny Friday at the Mallorca Country Club, Medvedev struck 10 aces and won 81 per cent of his first-service points to secure victory in one hour and 55 minutes.
206 kmh second serve to finish it 🤷♂️@DaniilMedwed is through to his first-ever grass court final, defeating Carreno Busta 3-6 6-3 6-2 in Mallorca!@MallorcaChamps pic.twitter.com/nxoNDBbQkt
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 25, 2021
“I know that I can play good on grass. Unfortunately we don’t have that many tournaments, only one ATP 500 and one Grand Slam. It’s going to be a special feeling if I win my first title on grass. I still don’t have one on clay, even if I have one final. Adding these titles, especially on different surfaces, can help your confidence and it’s just a great thing for your career,” said Medvedev.
“It was not an easy match and it was in very hot conditions. I think we were both struggling physically in the third set. But I think it was a high-quality match. It was very important to start good in the sets, this is what I didn’t manage to do in the first set. I had a lot of opportunities to try to come back, but he was better.
“This is where I was better in the second and third set. It was a tight battle, and I’m really happy with the second and especially the third set.”
Querrey beats Mannarino
Later in the afternoon, big-serving US-American Sam Querrey edged past Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-3. The 33-year-old Las Vegas resident fired 18 aces and won 97 per cent of his first-service points to prevail after one hour and 10 minutes.
Querrey continues in Mallorca 👏@SamQuerrey overcomes Mannarino 6-4 6-3 and reaches his 20th ATP Tour final!@MallorcaChamps pic.twitter.com/4UsNAGLs1a
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 25, 2021
In his 20th career ATP Tour final, and fifth on grass, Querrey will meet Medvedev for the second time. The Russian won the only previous meeting between the two at Eastbourne 2017 in straight sets.
Doubles second semis to become final
Italy’s Simone Bolelli alongside Maximo Gonzalez from Argentina and Marcus Daniell of New Zealand and Philipp Oswald from Austria will play for the doubles title. The winner of this semi-final will receive a walkover from Novak Djokovic and Carlos Gomez-Herrera. The Spaniard will not be able to compete in the final due to a right ankle injury.
🔻 @DjokerNole and Carlos Gómez-Herrera WD after the match.
🔺 The second SF between Bolelli/González and Daniell/Oswald will be played on Saturday.
🏆 Winners will be the first Mallorca Championships Doubles Champions. #ATPMallorca pic.twitter.com/vSxLpUv812— Mallorca Championships (@MallorcaChamps) June 24, 2021
