Daniil Medvedev in top form ahead of the finals

The scoreboard can sometimes give the wrong picture in tennis. Daniil Medvedev reached the final of the 50th edition of the ABN AMRO after a 6-1, 6-2 win. But  his semifinal against Grigor Dimitrov was not quite a walk in the park. 'It was not as easy as the score says,' Medvedev confessed at the end of the game. 

Grigor Dimitrov lost no less than eight games in a row after the opening game. The 31-year-old Bulgarian reappeared at the start of the second set with a 2-2 score into the game, but the revival was short-lived. Medvedev redeemed his second match point after eighty minutes: 'It was tough. Grigor got inspired for a while in the second, but I just made fewer mistakes. Especially in the important moments, because I had to come back from 0-40 twice. I thought the differences were small.’ The 27-year-old Medvedev was the No1 in the world rankings, but then suffered a number of setbacks. With his place in the final Rotterdam Ahoy, the right-handed player makes his return to the top 10 of the ATP rank. 'That’s nice of course, but I hope to win the tournament here. I am satisfied with my level this week in Rotterdam.’

Medvedev feels no different about his experience with finals. Tomorrow will be his 28th appearance at this level on the ATP tour. Fifteen tournament victories and twelve final losses. The last title he captured was this autumn in Vienna. 'A final is actually the same as any other in any competition. I always want to win everywhere. Only in a final, pressure plays a different role.’