Daniil Medvedev captured the Almaty title on Sunday, securing his first ATP trophy in nearly two and a half years since Rome in May of 2023. He defeated Corentin Moutet in the final, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, to claim his first title of the 2025 season at the indoor event.

The victory followed a difficult summer that included a first-round exit at the US Open. Medvedev rebounded to reach the quarterfinals in Hangzhou and then back-to-back semifinals in Beijing and Shanghai before arriving in Almaty and lifting the trophy.

“It feels great,” Medvedev said afterwards. “I was not super happy with the way I played in some moments of the match, but to win feels amazing, and it means in the most important points of the match I managed to play good. The last game was actually incredible.

“I’m happy to win the title—it continues my funny story of 21 different titles in 21 different cities, so I’m happy about it.”

Medvedev has now collected 21 career titles in 21 different cities. Those wins span 17 countries: four in the United States (Cincinnati, Miami, US Open and Winston-Salem), two in France (Marseille and Paris) and one each in Australia (Sydney), Austria (Vienna), Bulgaria (Sofia), Canada (Toronto), China (Shanghai), Italy (Rome), Japan (Tokyo), Mexico (Los Cabos), the Netherlands (Rotterdam), Qatar (Doha), Russia (St. Petersburg), Spain (Mallorca), the UAE (Dubai) and the UK (ATP Finals).

The 21 titles are also distributed across four continents: nine in Europe, six in North America, five in Asia and one in Australia.

Medvedev will play two more indoor events next: the ATP 500 in Vienna and the Masters 1000 in Paris. A win in either would break the pattern, since he has already triumphed at Paris in 2020 and Vienna in 2022. If he qualifies for the ATP Finals in Turin, that event would add a new city; he has previously won the ATP Finals in 2020 when it was held at the O2 in London.

The ATP Tour’s self-styled “admin” has found a clearer groove in Almaty after a testing stretch of the season.

Flavio Cobolli arrived following a run of poor results and a retirement at the US Open with Lorenzo Musetti. “I didn’t enjoy so much the last three, four weeks. It was a tough year. The calendar is very full,” he said. He added that he adjusted his approach upon arrival: “I practice a lot and I came here with another attitude. I’m trying to have more smiles on the court.”

The third seed opened his Almaty campaign with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Rinky Hijikata, a match he regarded as one of his best on hard courts this year. “I knew that Rinky was a tough opponent, so I try to be focused since the beginning and with a great attitude and great spirit. I played one of my best tennis matches on the hard court this year,” he said. “I think I served my best game on the season, good percentage. I really enjoyed that match.”

Cobolli’s 2025 began with two wins at the United Cup but also included a seven-match losing streak and an early-season niggle that dented his confidence. He reflected on the difficulty of his second year on tour. “It was unexpected because I started the year not so good with a bit of an injury. I was a little bit lost as well. It’s not easy to play the second year on the tour,” he said. “You have to confirm everything about your progress, your results, so it’s not easy to start the second season very well. I changed my focus, my mind. I start to not think about the result. I start to have fun on the court. I practice more than before and I took many results, not only about the points and money, but also about myself.”

Outside the lines, Cobolli has embraced the touring role given to him by the ATP, and he hopes it continues. “I try to have a great relationship with everyone on the tour. I think I make people happy. I try to be also with the fans like this,” he said. “We did this crazy thing with the admin, but it’s fun and I enjoy a lot. … I really enjoyed it. I hope I can continue and no one takes my place.”

With the season still to play, he is targeting selection for November’s Davis Cup Finals in Bologna. “I’m trying to be one of the five at the Davis Cup. That’s been a good dream for me. I really want to have the chance.”

Alex Michelsen arrived in Almaty after reaching his second career ATP Masters 1000 doubles final in Shanghai, where he finished runner-up with Andre Goransson. He saw the doubles swing as a way to sharpen match play. “It’s good matches, it’s good money and it’s good pressure points as well,” he said.

That tune-up paid immediate dividends. On Wednesday, the world No. 36 opened his Almaty campaign with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Beibit Zhukayev to snap a five-match losing streak in singles that stretched back to the Cincinnati Open. “Definitely a tough go lately in singles, so super happy to end that little streak I was on. The altitude here, I feel like it’s helpful for my game. Shots are penetrating a little more,” assesses Michelsen.

The win evened his career indoor record to 10-10 and underlined areas he wants to build on. “I’ve definitely underachieved indoors,” he states before expressing that he “absolutely loves” playing under a roof. He emphasised aggressive intentions, looking to finish points at the net while also finding rhythm from the baseline. “The balls die like they do everywhere nowadays, but when they’re not super dead, I think it’s a little easier to be offensive. Especially in the altitude, the balls are flying a little more,” he says. “I played super well at the baseline for the first time in a long time. A lot of positives going forward.”

Following the match, the on-court emcee presented Michelsen with a Kazakh coin for his collection. He is travelling with a compact team this week, including a familiar trainer and a new coach. “I’m here with Kristof Vliegen, new coach. As of now we’re doing a little trial period,” he reveals. “So let’s see how it goes. And then I’m with my trainer Byron (Manning), I’ve been with him for a couple of years.”

A win Thursday over Aleksandar Vukic would send Michelsen through to his seventh tour-level quarterfinal of the year. The sixth seed is bidding to become the ninth first-time winner on the ATP Tour this season.