Medvedev fights back to defend Almaty Open title and close in on ATP Finals

Medvedev survives a first-set scare

Daniil Medvedev is the Almaty Open champion again. The top seed and defending champion fought back from a set down to beat Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-3 in the final at Almaty Arena on Sunday afternoon, completing the first successful title defence of his career in one hour and 53 minutes.

Basilashvili takes the opener

For much of the opening set, the final looked as though it might produce a major upset. Basilashvili, ranked 128th in the world and playing in his first tour final since 2022, matched the world No. 5 shot for shot and refused to be overawed by the occasion, the defending champion or the crowd behind the favourite. Medvedev saved two set points to force a tiebreak, but then netted two attempted winners as the qualifier seized his moment, clinching the set with a powerful cross-court backhand.

The champion takes control

That, however, was as good as it got for the underdog. Medvedev, the 30-year-old former US Open champion, regrouped quickly and took complete control of the match. He forced backhand rallies, kept the pressure on relentlessly and watched an increasingly error-prone Basilashvili shoot wide time and again. The second set was one-way traffic, Medvedev winning it 6-1 to level the final and restore order after his first-set stumble.

The deciding set followed the same pattern. Basilashvili, seeking a sixth tour title and his first since May 2021, struggled with his nerves at the key moments. He netted a backhand drop shot to bring up Medvedev's first match point, then shot wide from the baseline to lose the match. It was a cruel ending to a fine week for the qualifier, but it underlined the gap that had opened up between the two players after the first set.

The numbers told the story of Medvedev's dominance once he had settled. He hit 22 aces to Basilashvili's three, and committed only 20 unforced errors to his opponent's 40. Basilashvili saved six of the ten break points he faced, a respectable effort against one of the tour's best returners, but he never broke Medvedev's serve in two attempts. Against a server in that kind of form, and with his own error count climbing, the qualifier was always going to need something special to stay in the contest.

A career milestone

For Medvedev, the victory carried significance well beyond one more trophy. It was his fourth tour title of 2026 and the 25th of his career, and it ended a curious quirk in an otherwise decorated record: until Sunday, he had never successfully defended a tour-level title. He has now done so in Almaty, the city where he returned to winning ways, and the relief was clear in his on-court interview.

"I always said, it's just a matter of luck, time, moment," Medvedev said after the first successful title defence of his career. "I was feeling fresh, I was feeling physically good... I'm happy to finally do it I guess," the 30-year-old added with a smile.

The road to Turin

There was also a bigger prize in view. The win was a boost for Medvedev's hopes of securing his place early in the ATP Finals, the season-ending championship he won in 2020. Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton have already qualified for the eight-man finale in Turin from November 15 to 22, while the injured Jannik Sinner will not feature. Medvedev, currently in the chasing pack, knows that every win in the closing weeks of the season could prove decisive.

His schedule leaves no time to dwell on the Almaty triumph. Medvedev is set to play in the Vienna Open starting on Monday, and then the Paris Masters from October 31, as he looks to secure his place in Turin. It is a demanding run, but it is also the kind of run that suits a player who says he is feeling fresh and physically good. If he can carry his Almaty serving form into Vienna and Paris, qualification may take care of itself.

What it means for both men

For Basilashvili, meanwhile, there is plenty to take from the week despite the defeat. A qualifier ranked outside the top 100 does not reach a tour final by accident, and his first-set performance against the defending champion showed the quality that once took him to five tour titles. His first final since 2022 will have reminded the tour, and perhaps himself, what he is capable of when his powerful groundstrokes are landing. The challenge now is to build on this week rather than treat it as a one-off.

The final also provided a neat sense of continuity for this tournament. After the semi-finals were covered on Sunday morning, the championship match delivered the expected winner but not in the expected way. Medvedev had to survive a scare, lose a tiebreak he might have won and then raise his level sharply to win. Champions are often judged by how they respond to trouble, and on that measure, his response in Almaty was emphatic.

In the end, the scoreboard reflected the match: one tight set, then two sets of control. Medvedev's serve, his composure after losing the opener and his ability to force errors from Basilashvili's backhand proved decisive. The defending champion leaves Kazakhstan with another trophy, a career milestone and his Turin ambitions very much alive. Basilashvili leaves with a reminder of what a deep run looks like, and with the knowledge that he pushed the champion harder than the final two sets suggested.