Daniil Medvedev has improved his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals after winning the Almaty Open title.
Medvedev missed out on qualifying for the ATP Finals last year for the first time in six years, but he had already had a resurgent 2026 season prior to the Almaty Open, where he was the defending champion, having won three ATP titles and reached the final of Indian Wells.
The Russian has now added a fourth title to his collection this year, with Medvedev beating Nikoloz Basilashvili 6(6)-7, 6-1, 6-3 to defend his Almaty Open title.
Medvedev winning the Almaty Open again has now had a major impact on the race to this year’s ATP Finals, with just weeks to go until the year-end tournament in Turin.
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Daniil Medvedev moves closer to qualifying for the ATP Finals
There are only three weeks to go until the ATP Finals, but only three players have actually confirmed their qualification for the year-end tournament. Those players are Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton, with Jannik Sinner missing the ATP Finals this year as he continues to nurse his knee injury.
Medvedev is now next in line to qualify for the ATP Finals, with his Almaty Open title win enabling him to overtake Flavio Cobolli in the race. Cobolli also had a successful week, but was unable to remain ahead of Medvedev after losing in the semi-finals of the Lyon Open.
That is one of two movements in the top eight of the race to the ATP Finals, with Arthur Fils also overtaking Frances Tiafoe after reaching the semi-finals of the European Open in Brussels.
Medvedev, Cobolli, Fils, Tiafoe and Rafael Jodar currently hold the remaining qualification spots for the ATP Finals, but Alex de Minaur, Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz are still hoping to change this.
Fritz is the only one of those who has been in action this week, having reached the final of the Lyon Open, where he will face Lorenzo Musetti.
| Race to the ATP Finals | Points |
| 1. Alexander Zverev (Qualified) | 9150 |
| 2. Janniik Sinner (Not playing) | 7950 |
| 3. Carlos Alcaraz (Qualified) | 4600 |
| 4. Ben Shelton (Qualified) | 4480 |
| 5. Daniil Medvedev (+1) | 3660 |
| 6. Flavio Cobolli (-1) | 3640 |
| 7. Arthur Fils (+1) | 3425 |
| 8. Frances Tiafoe (-1) | 3380 |
| 9. Rafael Jodar | 3159 |
| 10. Alex de Minaur | 2880 |
| 11. Novak Djokovic | 2840 |
| 12. Taylor Fritz (+1) | 2695 (Will have 2780 if he wins the Lyon title) |
Daniil Medvedev reacts after defending his Almaty Open title
Medvedev lost the first set of the Almaty Open final, but he revealed in his on-court interview after the match that he was not panicking about whether he would be able to fight back to beat Basilashvili.
“Yeah, it was not easy but I had my chances in the first set, got a bit unlucky on the 30-40 and then on the tie-break,” said Medvedev. “So, I knew that I would probably have my chances to turn this match around and that’s what I managed to do and I managed to win of course.”
As well as winning the Almaty Open being important for Medvedev’s chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals, it is also the first time that he has been able to defend a title in 20 attempts, something he believed was ‘just a matter of time’.
“Yeah, I always said it’s just a matter of time, luck, moment,” added Medvedev. “I was feeling fresh, I was feeling physically good, for sure Sascha being injured in the semis gave me an extra boost for the finals. So, I’m happy to do it I guess.”
Medvedev then explained why he decided to return to the Almaty Open, despite it only being an ATP 250 tournament.
“Yeah, I love it here,” explained Medvedev. “Otherwise I would probably not play here, because in terms of the calendar it’s not that easy tournament because you have to go to Vienna and play in a couple of days, but I love this tournament, I feel great here, so I’m always happy to play here and of course it’s even better to win.”
Medvedev will have very little time off after his Almaty Open win, as he returns to another tournament he has won before at the Vienna Open. In the first round, Medvedev will play against rising Spaniard Daniel Merida, as he looks to move closer to confirming his qualification for the ATP Finals.
