Nineteen of Daniil Medvedev's 21 victories have been won on hardcourt
A revitalized Daniil Medvedev won his initial championship for 882 days with a win over Frenchman Moutet in the Almaty Open final.
The athlete, a ex- top-ranked player, has endured a challenging period, managing just one win at the big events and suffering a setback at the American major.
Medvedev's inconsistency on the ATP Tour - and difficulties with his serving in particular - resulted in him dropping out of the elite rankings and finally parting ways with long-term trainer Gilles Cervara.
Now training with his coach and his other coach, he has consistently improved in the last few weeks - climaxing in a hard-fought competitive victory over opponent Moutet.
This marks Medvedev's initial trophy since the Rome competition and maiden on a hard court since spring of that year.
The win also indicates the Russian has achieved twenty-one titles at 21 distinct tournaments.
"This marks the first occasion I'm at a event with my both daughters together, so to get a title is really nice," commented world number 14 Medvedev.
"This title is in honour of my younger daughter Victoria, because the first title I won when my child her name was born was for her."
The tennis star, the 2021 US Open champion, had lost his past six championship matches, including in Halle earlier this year.
His retrieving strategy and recurring reactions on court had led commentators to wonder if his capacity to compete at the elite level was over.
Yet the athlete has implemented adjustments in the past month, striving to come to the net and perform assertively, supported by an enhanced serving game.
Medvedev fought back from a break down in the opening set against the difficult opponent, winning four of the last five points to go ahead.
Both players traded breaks in the second set before the challenger, striving for his initial tour title, gained dominance to force a final set.
He defended four early-game break points in a close final set before Medvedev won the break to that score to secure the win.
Suitably, he earned victory with a point at the net, with the Frenchman failing to manage a return after over two and a half hours.
