19 of Daniil Medvedev's twenty-one titles have been earned on hardcourt
A resurgent Daniil Medvedev won his maiden championship for 882 days with success over Frenchman Moutet in the Almaty Open final.
Medvedev, a former world number one, has experienced a challenging period, managing just a single victory at the big events and experiencing a setback at the US Open.
Medvedev's unpredictability on the tennis tour - and difficulties with his service game in specific - caused him falling of the top ten and ultimately splitting with long-time mentor his previous coach.
Currently training with Thomas Johansson and Rohan Goetzke, the tennis star has consistently progressed in the recent weeks - climaxing in a tightly fought three-set triumph over challenger Moutet.
It is his initial championship after the Rome competition and first on a hard surface from March of the previous year.
Victory also means the Russian has secured 21 victories at 21 distinct tournaments.
"This marks the first occasion I'm at a competition with my two daughters simultaneously, so to get a trophy is really nice," said ranked player the champion.
"This championship is in honour of my second daughter her name, because the maiden victory I won when my child my daughter was delivered was for her."
Medvedev, the past champion, had failed in his last six finals, including in Halle in the past months.
His counter-punching approach and recurring reactions on the playing surface had led observers to wonder if his skill to perform at the highest level was finished.
But the athlete has made changes in the last few weeks, making an effort to approach the net and perform aggressively, supported by an enhanced serving game.
He fought back from a disadvantage in the first set against the tricky Moutet, winning 4 of the final five exchanges to gain the advantage.
The competitors traded breaks in the second set before the Frenchman, attempting for his first tour victory, took control to force a final set.
He defended four early break points in a tight deciding set before the champion won the break to that score to secure the win.
Appropriately, the winner earned the title with a rally at the front of the court, with his opponent unable to manage a shot after over two and a half hours.
