Daniil Medvedev makes emotional family comment after first title win in 882 days

Daniil Medvedev won his first title in 882 days as he got the better of Corentin Moutet in the Almaty Open final on Sunday. And he dedicated the victory to his youngest child Victoria after being cheered on by his wife and two daughters.

Medvedev, who won the US Open in 2021 and has reached the final of five other Grand Slam events, has endured a tough couple of years on the court. And his form has nosedived this year, with the talented player suffering first-round defeats at the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open following a second-round exit at the Australian Open. But he reversed his fortunes in Kazakhstan as he claimed the 21st title of his career, with all of his triumphs coming at different tournaments.

Medvedev, who parted ways with long-term coach Gilles Cervara earlier this year, fell behind to an early break against Moutet as the Frenchman eased into the lead.

But Medvedev ultimately snatched the opening set after winning four of the final five games, with his opponent then levelling the scores after clinching the second set.

The Russian eventually kicked on in the decider as he secured a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 victory.

And after the showdown, an emotional Medvedev explained during the trophy ceremony: "I want to thank my family, my beautiful wife, my two daughters.

"It is the first time I have been at a tournament with my two daughters and wife together, so to get a title is really nice.

"I honour this title to my second daughter Victoria, because the first title I got when my first daughter Alisa was born was for her, so this one is for Victoria."

And the 29-year-old added: "It is great. I was not super happy with how I played in some moments of the match, but to win feels amazing. In the most important points I played good.

"The last game was incredible and I am happy to win the title. It continues my funny story of 21 titles in 21 different cities."

Moutet, meanwhile, is still, waiting for his first career title on the ATP Tour following his run in Kazakhstan, where he overcame Bernard Tomic, Alexander Shevchenko, Jan-Lennard Struff and Alex Michelsen on his way to the final.

The Frenchman, 26, reached the final on the grass in Mallorca in June but ultimately lost against Tallon Griekspoor.

And in 2020, he reached the showpiece match in Doha but was denied silverware after falling short against Andrey Rublev.