2023 ABN AMRO Open champion Daniil Medvedev got off to a blazing start after beating fellow former tournament winner Stan Wawrinka to the first game in just one minute, but the Swiss veteran hit back with two razor-sharp games and some vintage shots.
A couple mistakes came back to haunt Wawrinka as Medvedev came back to win four straight games after falling behind 3 games to 1, but a resilient Wawrinka kept wowing the Rotterdam crowd and fought back to tie the game at 5 games apiece.
With Medvedev on setpoint, the two battled out a fantastic rally which allowed Wawrinka to clinch a crucial deuce and eventually tie the set at 5-5.
The ensuing tiebreak saw Wawrinka make the first mistake when the former world number 3 hit the net on a wide-open volley. The 39-year-old Swiss was the first to reach setpoint in the tiebreak but squandered the opportunity after a slick backhand from Medvedev and an unforced error.
A double fault erased the next setpoint, keeping Medvedev in the game and allowing him the next setpoint after another unforced error. But Wawrinka wouldn’t give up and clinched the first set with another fierce backhand.
Medvedev started the second set on the front foot with a break and a won rally after Wawrinka hit a circus shot through his legs but couldn't close it out. It would set the tone for the rest of the set as Wawrinka had to pull out all the tricks in his book, but couldn't beat a Daniil Medvedev on a strong service game.
The seasoned Swiss showed signs of fatigue in the closing stages of the match with Medvedev getting increasingly comfortable with slicing through his opponent's defense and taking a rather quick 3-0 lead after clinching consectuve breaks.
In a bid to stay in the match, Wawrinka served at a score a 5-1 but couldn't hang on after an unforced error won the Russian the game.