Daniil Medvedev was able to "block the noise" following a temper tantrum in his previous match and moved back into contention at the ATP Finals with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Alex de Minaur on Tuesday, local time.
De Minaur did not play badly, he was simply barely allowed to play at all with Medvedev hitting 24 winners and dropping just two points on serve in the second set.
The Russian didn't face a single break point and was generally much sharper than in his straight-set loss to Taylor Fritz on Sunday — during which he smashed his racket and lost his cool twice.
When the match was over, Medvedev closed his eyes and held his fingers to his ears. Then he wrote on a camera lens, "Block the noise".
"I went into this match also blocking the noise even from myself," Medvedev said.
"No like, tantrums and stuff. Just block the noise. And I really didn't care what was happening on the court. I just tried to play and it was a good feeling."
Daniil Medvedev vowed no more tantrums after his first match defeat. (Getty Images: LightRocket/Nicolò Campo)
Later, top-ranked Jannik Sinner made it two wins in two matches, beating Fritz 6-4, 6-4 in a rematch of the US Open final that the Italian also won in straight sets.
Sinner, who beat Alex de Minaur in his opening match at the season-ending event for the top eight players, improved to 23-1 in his last five tournaments.
The top two finishers from each round-robin group advance to the semifinals.
De Minaur, who is making his debut at the season-ending event for the year's top eight players, has lost both of his opening matches and will likely be eliminated.
The Australian had won the pair's only previous match this year, in the last 16 at Roland Garros, but that counted for little when his opponent began as if determined to exorcise the memory of his opening match.
Medvedev won the finals in 2020 — the last edition held in London.
"The more popular you become, the more fans you get, the more haters you get, the more attention you get. And sometimes even the good noise can make you off balance," Medvedev said.
"You know, you win everything and everyone thinks you're a god … Then you lose two matches and everyone is like, 'Finished, your career is finished.' So sometimes it's good just [to] block it," Medvedev added.
On Thursday, Medvedev faces Sinner and de Minaur plays Fritz in the final matches of the group.
Earlier Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson lost 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 to Harri Helioevaara and Henry Patten in the doubles and are 1-1 after their two matches, still in with a reasonable chance of making the last four.
AP/AAP