Daniil Medvedev neutralised the attack of American serving giant Reilly Opelka on Sunday, dominating 6-4, 6-3 to win the ATP Toronto Masters.
The world number two Russian needed just 87 minutes, limiting his 2.11m opponent to just eight aces and breaking him three times while saving all four break points he faced.
Medvedev, aided by 34 unforced errors from Opelka, became the first Russian to win a Canadian trophy since Marat Safin 21 years ago. The winner was playing a fifth career final at the Masters 1000 level.
“When I was starting I could barely have dreamed of a Masters final,” he said. “Now I’ve played five of them and won four. I’m just happy,” he added. 
“I want to achieve more, I want to play better.”
In a lively start, Opelka exerted early pressure on Medvedev, striking the ball with great power as he stepped inside the baseline to move 0/40 ahead on the Russian’s serve in the fourth game. However, Opelka was unable to take his chances, with Medvedev making five straight first serves to hold. 
It was then Medvedev who broke first, hammering his backhand down the line past Opelka on return to lead 3-2. Medvedev played consistently as he hit his flat backhand to great effect, causing Opelka problems, who won just 6/13 points at the net to clinch the first set in 38 minutes.
In the second set, Medvedev continued to stand deep behind the baseline during rallies as he soaked up pressure, forcing Opelka into errors. 
The American struggled to hit through Medvedev, with the Russian winning nine points in a row, breaking again to seize control. Medvedev raised his level in the key moments, fending off another break point at 3-2 when Opelka pushed a drop shot wide. Medvedev dominated the longer rallies in the second set, hitting with great depth as he sealed his victory.
Medvedev, who will be the top seed at next week’s Cincinnati Masters, the final major tuneup for the US Open that starts August 30, had praise for Opelka, the US number one who is ranked 32nd in the world. “It was a great week for him, he fought to the end,” Medvedev said. Playing a first Masters final is never easy. My first was in Canada (Montreal, 2019) and I won just three games,” he recalled of a title tilt against Rafael Nadal.
Opelka said he was outplayed from the start by the top seed.
“Daniil played great, as expected. He was flawless. I had one chance to break early and I don’t think that would have changed much.
“It was a little windy and a little bit swirlier out there, so it was really tough to be consistently powerful. Even when I hit some big shots, he countered well.
“It was very tough to disrupt him at all.”
Medvedev said he went into the match with a plan to combat Opelka’s big delivery.
“The goal was to get as many balls back as possible, not go for crazy shots, make him move and make him doubt,” Medvedev said. “The more balls you put back the more pressure you put on the opponent.”
Medvedev, Opelka and their teams were due to take a private plane laid on by organisers in order to reach next week’s Cincinnati Masters, 660 kilometres away, later in the evening.