A rejuvenated Daniil Medvedev beat Alex de Minaur 6-2 6-4 in his second match at the ATP Tour Finals.
Fourth-seeded Medvedev was angry in his opener defeat against American Taylor Fritz on Sunday, but looked much more stable in Tuesday’s victory.
The 28-year-old Russian, booed for his antics against Fritz, covered his ears after sealing victory,
He lost just nine points on his serve as he cruised to victory in one hour and 18 minutes.
“I came into this match blocking out the noise, even from myself,” said Medvedev, the 2020 champion.
“I didn’t really care what was happening on the pitch, I was just trying to play and it was a good feeling.
“The more popular you become, the more fans you get, the more haters you get, the more attention you get. Sometimes even the right noise can throw you off balance.
“You win everything and people say you’re a god. You lose two matches and people say ‘Your career is over.’ Sometimes it’s good to just block it out.”
Australia’s De Minaur will be eliminated with one match to play if the group’s other draw Ilie Nastase between Italian top seed Jannik Sinner and Fritz goes to three sets later on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. GMT).
Medvedev’s temper was under scrutiny after his surly behavior 48 hours earlier, but he hit the ball superbly and broke on the third play with a game-winning field goal.
He earned a double break when De Minaur double faulted and won the first set in 40 minutes.
De Minaur, 25, fought back in a thrilling second set, but Medvedev’s stunning backhand gave him a 5-4 lead and he held serve to clinch victory.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Henry Patten and partner Harri Helioevaara are on the brink of the doubles semi-finals after a second consecutive triumph.
They beat Australians Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 in a repeat result in their Wimbledon final.
The Anglo-Finnish duo are aiming to become the first team to win the Wimbledon and ATP Finals trophy in the same season since Mike Bryan and Jack Sock in 2018.
Alcaraz abandons the test session
French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz’s prospects in this event are uncertain after his retirement from training.
His coach Juan Carlos Ferrero told Spanish media that the 21-year-old stopped his session after just five minutes because chest pain made breathing difficult.
The Spaniard is due to face Russian Andrey Rublev in the John Newcombe group on Wednesday (1:00 p.m. GMT).
“I don’t think he will get to the point of not playing, but it will be difficult for him to be 100% tomorrow,” Ferrero said.
Alcaraz was not in a good mood when losing his first match in Turin Monday to the Norwegian Casper Ruud, who will then face the German Alexander Zverev during the session on Wednesday evening.
