Medvedev Dominates Rublev in Hangzhou Final with Ace Barrage

Daniil Medvedev claimed the Hangzhou title, defeating Andrey Rublev. Medvedev's serve proved decisive, with 23 aces. He maintained a perfect record on his service games, saving both break points faced. His first-serve success rate stood at 85 percent, landing 70 percent of his first serves.

Rublev, who served four aces, saved five of seven break points. Medvedev capitalized on two crucial break points to secure the sets and the championship.

This victory marks Medvedev’s first win against a Top 25 player since defeating world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells semifinals. His head-to-head record against Rublev now stands at 8-2. Medvedev also defeated Rublev in their only previous final, in Dubai in 2023, with a score of 6-2, 6-2.

Medvedev advanced to the final by defeating Chak Lam Coleman Wong (6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3), Valentin Royer (7-6 (6), 6-3), and Roman Safiullin (7-5, 6-4). Rublev reached the final through wins against Kyrian Jacquet (7-6, 6-1), Rinky Hijikata (6-3, 6-3), and Hugo Gaston in the semifinal (6-7 (6), 7-6 (4), 6-1). Rublev was aiming for his 19th career title and second of 2026, following his win in Bastad.

Reflecting on their performance and the match, Medvedev commented, “We probably play a bit worse than before in terms of results. We did a final of 500, 250, now time for one Masters 1000. And after in 5 years, a Slam. I’m happy to see you in the final. Sorry that I served good today. Hopefully we can finish the season this strong.”

The two players exchanged warm sentiments during the trophy ceremony. Rublev acknowledged their long history, stating, “First of all I want to say a few words to Daniil. To be honest I don’t know what to say. After so many years we said so many things to each other. So I don’t know what else to say. I just wanna congratulate you and say a big hi to all your family. I hope we will have many, many, many more memories over the years in the future.”