'Just don't care': Daniil Medvedev sinks Alex de Minaur at ATP Finals with 'block the noise' philosophy 

Daniil Medvedev is back in the hunt at the Nitto ATP Finals after approaching his latest day at the office with a 'just don't care' mentality.

The 2020 champion dispatched Alex de Minaur, 6-2, 6-4, in his second Ilie Nastase Group encounter to bounce back from an opening loss to Taylor Fritz. As Brett Haber noted on Tennis Channel, the 29-year-old became the first player this season to not drop serve against De Minaur in the 65 matches the Australian has contested.

“Block the noise :)”, wrote Medvedev on a camera lens afterwards.

Explaining further to Prakash Amritraj, the world No. 4 said, “Me, I found the way by not caring. Just don’t care. Your boss is screaming at you, just block the noise and say ‘I don’t care.’ Just don’t tell it to his face but show it to him.”

De Minaur was broken twice in the opening set during games where he was initially a point from holding. A heavy looping forehand crosscourt winner set Medvedev up with ad out in the third game. A drop shot that sat up a tad too much from the No. 7 seed on the next point allowed the Russian to redirect his backhand reply into the open court, finishing his shot with a slide to move ahead 2-1.

The pair’s brand of tennis was on full display when Medvedev ended a grueling 28-shot rally with a forehand winner up the line to earn a shot at going up a double break, an advantage that was secured when the Australian double faulted for the second time.

Medvedev maintained his strong level at the line in the second set, upping his first-serve percentage to keep pace with a more energetic De Minaur. There were no break opportunities until the ninth game, where Medvedev laced a backhand passing shot to put the match on his racquet. He finished his day without any break points faced and 24 winners to 18 unforced errors.