Fresh from stunning World No.1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, Russian Daniil Medvedev duly wrapped up his first Masters level title with victory in the Cincinnati final against David Goffin of Belgium Sunday.
Medvedev won 7-6 6-4 in one hour 39 minutes to set the seal on the best week of his emerging career and he will go to the US Open at Flushing Meadow next week as a real threat to the established order.
His hard-fought three-set win over Djokovic was the first time the Serbian had been beaten in a Masters 1000 semifinal sine 2013 and ended a 10-match winning streak for the Wimbledon champion, who had been defending his Cincinnati crown.
The 23-year-old from Moscow has an unorthodox, but effective style and is one of a batch of Next Gen talent that is ready to challenge the likes of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who made an early exit in Cincinnati.
Runner-up spots in Montreal, Washington, Barcelona and Brisbane, with a sole victory coming at the Sofia Open in February, left Medvedev hungry to clinch a big title.
But in Goffin, the first Belgian to reach a Masters 1000 title, he found a determined opponent, with the first set going to a tiebreaker, won convincingly 7-3 by Medvedev.
An immediate break at the start of the second set put him firmly on the road to victory and he kept his nerve to close out the victory despite suffering from cramp late in the match.
It's hard to find words," Medvedev said in the post-match interviews.
"It would not be good to lose three finals in a row, so I'm really happy about this," he added.
With 44 ATP Tour wins this season, Medvedev is also leading this category from Nadal, who has 41, and has reached more finals (six) than any other player.
Earlier, home hope Madison Keys won the WTA event at the venue, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, 7-5 7-6, in a closely fought final.
