RIYADH: Daniil Medvedev has won the inaugural $1 million Diriyah Tennis Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Medvedev beat Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-2 in Saturday’s final.
Earlier in the tournament he beat Jan-Lennard Struff and Belgium’s David Goffin — also in straight sets.
The Diriyah Tennis Cup, sponsored by Saudi Aramco, will certainly go down in history as eight of the world’s best tennis stars met in the Diriyah Arena for the first international tournament played in the Kingdom.
The event also made tennis history as not only the first in Saudi Arabia, but also one of the first to use Hawk-Eye Live technology.
Replacing the need for line judges and providing more accuracy, Hawk-Eye Live sends visual and audio cues to the chair umpire and off-court monitors within a tenth of a second of a ball bouncing, to show faults and out-of-bounds shots without relying on the naked eye.
In the first of the two semifinals, Fognini overcame the spirited efforts of the ever-entertaining Frenchman Gael Monfils.
In the second semifinal, Medvedev — a standout performer on the ATP Tour in 2019 — maintained his remarkable form to outgun David Goffin, 6-3, 6-3 to ease his way into Saturday’s historic final.
BACKGROUND
The Diriyah Tennis Cup, sponsored by Saudi Aramco, will go down in history as eight of the world’s best tennis stars met in the Diriyah Arena for the first international tournament played in the Kingdom.
The Russian has won four titles in 2019 in Sofia, in Cincinnati, in St. Petersburg and in Shanghai.
He was the finalist in Brisbane, Barcelona, Washington, Montreal and at the US Open.
Ranked No.5, Medvedev played his last match on Nov. 15 when he was defeated by Alexander Zverev in London.
The first day as part of a three-day tournament saw all eight players in action.
First up on court was Italian Fabio Fognini taking on American John Isner, ranked no. 19 and the holder of the third fastest serve of all time in men’s tennis.
