2 things that stood out in Daniil Medvedev's 1R win over Arthur Fils at Vienna Open

Top seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia beat Arthur Fils of France 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna on Wednesday, October 25. The match lasted for around one and a half hours, as Medvedev raced through it to qualify for the next round.

Medvedev will take on Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in the second round on Thursday. He also remains the favourite to win his sixth title of the year in Vienna. The Slams have eluded him this year, but the Russian continues to do well in smaller tournaments.

On that note, let us take a look at two things that stood out in the match:

#1. Medvedev was far more clinical and accurate than Fils:

Fils fought well in the first set and was good to watch with his range of strokes, including exquisite drop shots and lobs. However, Medvedev did the basic things right to nullify the threat posed by the Frenchman.

The 27-year-old Russian’s inside-in forehand won him a number of points in the first set. Fils slapped a few crosscourt forehands of his own to test Medvedev’s court coverage, but the Russian’s superior defence often allowed him to stay in the rallies.

Medvedev broke Fils once in the first set to win it and take a crucial 1-0 lead in the match. The young Frenchman was always going to find that deficit too big to overcome.

#2. Fils struggled to hold his serve in the second set:

Medvedev tightened his grip on the match in the second set, engaging Fils in crosscourt backhand exchanges and dominating the proceedings from the baseline. The Frenchman struggled to hold his serve for the majority of the second set and got broken twice.

He also struggled to deal with Medvedev’s backhand and serve in the set, and failed to get a single break point opportunity in the match. Medvedev, meanwhile had five break point opportunities in the match and managed to convert three of them.

The Russian repeatedly put Fils’ second serve to the sword in the second set. Medvedev won 90% and 80% of the points on his first and second serves, respectively, in the match.

Fils, on the other hand managed to win only 67% and 35% of the points on his first and second deliveries, respectively. The Russian thus had little trouble in disposing of his opponent on the day.