Medvedev Defends Almaty Open Crown With Comeback Win Over Basilashvili

Daniil Medvedev overturned an impressive first-set display from qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili to successfully defend his Almaty Open title, coming through 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-3 to reclaim the crown in Kazakhstan.

It is the Russian's fourth trophy of a resurgent season, having also taken titles in Brisbane, Dubai and Hangzhou before Sunday's triumph. His form on grass and clay this year has been less impressive, unsurprisingly so. But Medvedev's formidable prowess on hard courts has once again been integral to his 2026 revival, with his quartet of trophies this year all coming on his favoured surface.

Remarkably, across the 25 career titles he has now amassed, Medvedev has won the same tournament twice for only the second time. The former World No. 1 had won 22 titles across 22 different events up until February of this year, when he claimed the Dubai International for a second time, having also won there in 2023. But his victory in Almaty this weekend marks the first successful title defence of Medvedev's career.

Basilashvili Puts Up Valiant Effort in Almaty

Basilashvili was a somewhat surprise opponent in the final, as the Georgian continues to steadily rebuild his ranking after falling to 596th in the world three years ago, injury woes and poor form having taken a heavy toll. Back up to 128th, the 5-time ATP titlist has enjoyed a superb week in Kazakhstan's largest city, coming through two rounds of qualifying before a highly impressive charge to the final. Most eye-catching was his semi-final dispatch of Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is enjoying his own renaissance this season after a period of struggle.

Across the opening 52 minutes of this final, it looked as though the Georgian was set to cap off his fine week with what would have been a huge upset. The key was holding firm on serve, as Basilashvili struggled to make any real inroads in his opponent's service games, only earning two break points across the contest. But the big-hitting Georgian protected his own serve in admirable fashion, crucially fending off two break points in the eleventh game of the set to guarantee himself a tiebreak at the least.

It was a tight and tense breaker that mirrored much of the stanza that preceded it. Medvedev held a set point at 6-5 only for his opponent to steal the final three and move into a well-deserved one-set lead.

Medvedev Turns Up The Heat As Basilashvili Fades

Unfortunately for Basilashvili, that was the peak of his unlikely title tilt. Medvedev's quality, experience and mental fortitude were utilised excellently to turn the match on its head, with the Georgian's own physicality appearing to fade after a fatiguing week.

A pair of breaks in the second and sixth games of the second set put Medvedev in firm control, cruising to take it 6-1. The Russian earned another two breaks without reply in the decider, earned in the third and ninth games, to finish Basilashvili's resistance and lift a 25th ATP title.

"It is just a matter of time, luck, a moment," Medvedev said when asked about successfully defending a title for the first time. "I was feeling fresh, physically good. Sascha [Bublik] being injured in the semis gave me an extra push in the final and I am happy to finally do it.

"It was not easy but I had my chances in the first set. I got a bit unlucky," he continued. "I knew I would probably have my chances to turn the match around and it was not easy. But I am happy to win."

Hard-Court Maestro Medvedev Puts Together Productive 2026

Few would have believed at the time that Medvedev's victory at the 2023 Italian Open would book-end the start of a 29-month trophy drought. The former World No. 1 and 2021 US Open champion had begun that season in blistering form, claiming five titles across the opening five months of the year before a surprise drop-off in form spiralled into a full-blown crisis of confidence.

However, it was at this very tournament one year ago that Medvedev arrested that slump. Winning Almaty last October was the catalyst that triggered a highly productive 2026 campaign, and a welcome return to form. 12 months later, Medvedev leaves Almaty with his Kazakhstan crown intact and a tour-leading 38 hard-court wins for the season. It is a statistic that has helped position him strongly to qualify for the ATP Finals next month.

It also illustrates just how dominant the Russian can be on this surface when his game is operating near full capacity. To emphasise, only two of his 25 career titles have been won away from hard courts.

With the European indoor hard-court swing drawing the season to a close over the next few weeks, and the world's leading hard-courter Jannik Sinner absent for the remainder of the year, Medvedev sits in pole position to finish a fruitful 2026 with a flourish.

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