Gerasimov On First ATP Final: ‘Everyone Is Dreaming About This’

Daniil Medvedev made his first ‘big’ breakthrough at the 2018 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships, where he went through qualifying to win his first ATP 500 tournament. He did not lose a set in the main draw. However, the Russian lost a set in qualifying against then-World No. 250 Egor Gerasimov.

“I could have lost in the qualies here. It was a really tough match in the final of qualifying against a great player, my Belarusian friend, Gerasimov,” Medvedev said. “If he would have beaten me, I wouldn’t be standing here as the champion of Tokyo.”

On paper, Gerasimov lost in qualifying at that event, but he pushed a player who would land inside the world’s Top 5 less than a year later. The next week Gerasimov made an ATP Challenger Tour semi-final, and the week after that, he reached his second ATP Tour quarter-final in Moscow. Ever since, the Belarusian has been on the rise.

Belarusians To Reach ATP Tour Singles Final

Now, 16 months later, not only is Gerasimov in the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, at a career-high No. 90, but he is into his first ATP Tour final at the Tata Open Maharashtra. Gerasimov is the first Belarusian to reach a tour-level singles final since Max Mirnyi at 2005 Nottingham.

“I think I was playing pretty well. My first final of an ATP [Tour event]. Everyone is dreaming about this,” Gerasimov said after beating sixth seed James Duckworth in the Pune semi-finals. “I am very happy.” 

Gerasimov did not play between August 2017 and March 2018 due to a back injury, falling outside of the Top 300 on 30 July 2018.

“I had back problems, so I could not play consistently for two years,” Gerasimov said. “I lost like half a year recovering and in the past year and a half I was playing without any injuries.

“I had a few surgeries before, so I was waiting for these results.”

Gerasimov once told ATPTour.com that his best quality isn’t his forehand or backhand, but his work ethic. The 27-year-old prides himself on how hard he works, and that’s what propelled him into the Top 100 for the first time last September.

At the 2019 US Open, Gerasimov qualified for a Grand Slam main draw for the first time on his 14th attempt, reaching the second round. He then reached the second round of this year’s Australian Open on his main draw debut, before falling to eventual semi-finalist Alexander Zverev.

“He was probably very motivated, first time for him on Rod Laver Arena,” Zverev said after the match. “It was always going to be a very difficult match. He’s playing unbelievable tennis the past 12 months, getting his ranking up very, very quickly. So I think he’s going to rise up to maybe Top 50, Top 30 very quickly.”

A victory in Sunday’s final against Jiri Vesely is projected to propel Gerasimov to a career-high inside the Top 65. And already the third Belarusian man to reach an ATP Tour final, he could make national history by joining Mirnyi (2003 Rotterdam) as the second man from his country to win a title.

“Girls are doing pretty well in Belarus, better than the boys,” Gerasimov said. “But I think we’ll also show something pretty soon.”