Medvedev outlasts Zverev to win maiden Paris Masters title

PARIS - World No 5 Daniil Medvedev lifted his first trophy at the Bercy Arena with a comeback win over Alexander Zverev here on Sunday, beating the German fourth seed 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 in the final.

It is the Russian's eighth career title and third at a Masters event.

Zverev, who had a 5-1 win-loss record over the duo's previous encounters, took an early advantage in the repeat of last year's Shanghai final. But Medvedev managed a fightback at 4-4 in the second set, when he earned his first break in the match and then stormed to the victory by winning eight of the final nine games.

"I'm really trying to make my opponent crazy," said Medvedev after the two-hour-37-minute battle. "Today was a really tight match. After the first set I didn't know actually what to do, because I had zero break points. I didn't feel good returning his serve."

"Of course it's tough to compare with the Shanghai final, where I was on top of him all of the match. Here it was a really tight match where both could be the winners," the third seed added.

It was Medvedev's first final and title of the year, while Zverev was playing his third straight final after back-to-back titles in Cologne.

"Credit to him. He is a great player. It's his first tournament win of the season. I know his season wasn't the easiest one, whereas I have to say my season has actually been going quite well," said Zverev, who defeated top seed Rafael Nadal in the semifinal.

Both players will now turn their attention to the ATP Finals in London, which is scheduled behind closed doors in the O2 Arena from November 15 to 22.