Tennis: Medvedev battles back to win second title of year

October 31, 2022 12:27 AMVIENNA - Daniil Medvedev celebrated becoming a father for the first time earlier this month with his second ATP title of the year after beating Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in Sunday’s final in Vienna. The 26-year-old former world No. 1 dropped his first set of the week as Shapovalov produced some eye-catching tennis by firing down 21 winners. However, Medvedev – whose wife Daria gave birth to a baby girl on Oct 14 – did not buckle and stormed back to level the match with some terrific shots of his own. The third set was a procession as the Russian broke Shapovalov several times and eventually took the title with his sixth match point. “I am really happy,” said Medvedev, who had reached the quarter-finals on the only other occasion he played in Vienna. “This match was the best of the week because Denis was really playing unreal until probably 4-3 in the second set. He dropped his level by maybe two per cent and I was able to use it. “This is one of the best victories when you know your opponent is on top of you, but you try and stay there and do what you can.”