WATCH: Daniil Medvedev mockingly limps against Jannik Sinner after losing a rally during the Vienna Open finals

Defending champion Daniil Medvedev suffered his second consecutive defeat against Jannik Sinner in the nail-biting finale of the Vienna Open. 

WATCH: Daniil Medvedev mockingly limps against Jannik Sinner after losing a rally during the Vienna Open finals

Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev (Image via Eurosport)

Defending champion Daniil Medvedev continued his streak of failing to defend a title as he suffered a 2nd consecutive defeat against 2nd seed Jannik Sinner in the nail-biting finale of the ATP 500 Vienna Open on Sunday. 

The Italian defeated World No. 3 by 7-6(7), 4-6, 6-3 in just over 3 hours to lift his 10th career title. This was the fourth final clash between the pair, with spoils shared between the duo. With the win, Sinner has improved his head-to-head against the Russian to 2-6.

YouTube video

In the second set, Sinner let the Russian No. 1 get into the game as he dictated the match, while the Italian had to admittedly “hustle a little bit“. However, the 22-year-old stepped it up big-time in the final sets as he capitalized on the several break points he earned. 

FS Video

The match had several great rallies, with one of those coming late in the third set. Sinner, serving at 4-2, 15-0 up, showed great groundstrokes and net play to win the point. The Russian reacted hilariously to losing the point as he mockingly limped while walking back to his return position on the deuce court. 

Here’s the video of the said incident:-

Daniil Medvedev talks about his record of failed title defense

Daniil Medvedev has a peculiar career record of failing to defend an ATP title. In addition to this, the 27-year-old has never won a title twice, which means that he has won 20 unique titles. 

Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev
Jannik Sinner alongside Daniil Medvedev at the China Open trophy presentation ceremony (Credit : AP)

However, now, the tennis professional has a golden chance to alter that record at the upcoming final Masters event of the calendar at the Paris Masters. For context, the World No. 3 won the 2020 edition of the tournament. Talking about his record of failed title defenses in a post-match interview, Medvedev remarked: 

I have that thing, apparently I cannot defend my titles anywhere I won already. I will try to do it already in Paris or somewhere else.

On the other hand, Sinner couldn’t hide his elation as he shared a post on the social media site ‘X’ 

Vienna what a week. Couldn't be happier to win the title here this week and with my level on court throughout each match. To my team, thank you for everything! #10.
Sinner wrote on X

Both Sinner and Medvedev have already qualified for the ATP Finals to be played in Turin, Italy. Next up, the pair will play in the final Masters tournament of the calendar at the Paris Masters. 

The duo have received a first-round bye and will start their singles campaign with their respective second-round clashes on Tuesday. Interestingly, Sinner will also take part in the doubles draw alongside three-time Grand Slam champion Stanislas Wawrinka. The pair face off against the Serbian duo of 24-time Grand Slam title champion Novak Djokovic and Miomir Kecmanovic.

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