Daniil Medvedev has moved to within one match of defending his Nitto ATP Finals title, yesterday, cruising past Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-2 to earn his ninth consecutive victory at the season finale.

The Russian, like Djokovic, soared through the round-robin stage with a perfect 3-0 record, playing confidently against Ruud as he overpowered the Norwegian with his flat and deep groundstrokes in a dominant performance to advance after 80 minutes in Turin.

Medvedev now leads Ruud 3-0 in their ATP Head2Head series, having also defeated the world number eight on grass in Mallorca in June en route to the title.

The 25-year-old, who downed Dominic Thiem to lift the trophy in London in 2020, will face either five-time Nitto ATP Finals champion Novak Djokovic, or Alexander Zverev in the championship match.

Earlier this season, the world number two captured his fourth ATP Masters 1000 crown in Toronto, before he ended Djokovic’s grand slam hopes in the U.S. Open final to win his maiden major title. Medvedev arrived in Turin following a run to the championship match in Paris, where he lost to Djokovic, who gained revenge for his defeat at Flushing Meadows.

Medvedev trails the Serbian 4-6 in their ATP head-to-head series, but leads Zverev 6-5, having won their past five meetings, including a three-set win at the Pala Alpitour this week. Ruud was making his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals and edged Andrey Rublev to qualify for the semi-finals as he went 2-1 in Green Group action. In a breakthrough season, he has earned 55 tour-level wins, holding a 25-10 record on hard courts.