Medvedev downs Raonic to reach Paris Masters final

Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev reached the Paris Masters final with a commanding 6-4 7-6(4) victory against Canadian Milos Raonic on Saturday.

Medvedev hit 31 winners to 12 unforced errors in a muffled atmosphere at the Bercy arena, where the tournament is being played without spectators amid government restrictions to contain the rise of COVID-19 cases in France.

The 24-year-old, who arrived in Paris having lost five of his previous matches, broke for 3-2 as Raonic made yet another forehand unforced error.

Both then stayed strong on serve and Medvedev, who saved six of seven break points throughout, bagged the opening set with a timely serve and volley on his first opportunity.

Raonic dropped serve in the 11th game of the second set but he broke straight back to force a tiebreak, in which he was out of sorts, with Medvedev wrapping it up with a smash.

“In some key moments, he found a way to be a bit more the aggressor. He was dictating a bit more,” said Raonic. “I was trying to change the pace up. But maybe I started to find the rhythm of that a little bit too late.”

In his fourth final at a Masters event, Medvedev will face either German fourth seed Alexander Zverev or top seed Rafael Nadal, who is looking to claim his maiden title at the Paris Masters.