Tag: Daniil Medvedev

ROME: Third seed Daniil Medvedev and 2022 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas powered into the Italian Open semi-finals on Thursday with comfortable straight-set wins.

Daniil Medvedev continued his clay breakthrough as he reached the final four 6-2, 6-2 over Yannick Hanfmann.

Greek Tsitsipas, the 2022 finalist,  subdued Croat Borna Coric 6-3, 6-4 on a day when the French Open field was blown wide open by the withdrawal of Rafael Nadal.

The iconic 14-time champion, 36, cast a huge shadow over his future in the game, confessing that he did not know when he would be fit from a hip injury which has kept him off court since January.

Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, has made big improvements in his clay game here after freely admitting he’s never been comfortable on the dirt.

He has shattered that stereotype with his steady progress at the Foro Italico, reaching his seventh semi-final of the season. Medvedev dominated number 101 German qualifier Hanfmann after settling in following breaks of serve in the opening three games in their Italian Open quarter-final.

After going down a break in the second set, the 31-year-old Hanfmann complained to his coaching box that he had no legs left as he played on prior to losing serve for the fifth time in the match.

But he struck back briefly with a break of the seed to hold on for 2-4 before dropping serve again as Medvedev moved into winning position, closing it out on a second match point.

“All of the courts are pretty different here, it was not easy to adapt for both of us,” Medvedev said.

“But I managed to adapt better. I’m really happy about it. A win is a win. Not counting the serve, I played well, returned well, moved well.

“I’m looking forward to the next round.”

Prior to this edition, Daniil Medvedev had never won a match in Italian Open and had little confidence in his game on the clay. He is now into the final four after four victories and the loss of just one set.

“Against Hanfmann I wanted to put as many balls into the court as possible. He plays very aggressive. I played deep to try and make him miss — and maybe he was not playing his best match.

“He was struggling more than me. I’m glad I was able to neutralise his game.”

Medvedev also increased his lead in Tour match wins as he claimed his 37th of the season.

Stefanos Tsitsipas was meanwhile dominant against Coric after losing to the Croat in three of five matches, including here in 2018 and in last summer’s Cincinnati final.

Stefanos Tsitsipas secured the opening set with a break and took a 2-1 lead in the second. But two double-faults contributed as he dropped serve for 4-4 only to break straight back and serve out victory a game later.

“These night sessions are becoming very fun,” the fifth seed said.

“This is clay and things can escalate very quickly,” he said of his stutter near the end.

“I managed my shotmaking at the important moments and was able to retrieve (the momentum) at the end.

“I felt the energy point by point.”

Tsitsipas and Medvedev have played 12 times to date with the latter leading 7-4.

“He’s playing well and I’m also feeling good on court. I hope he brings out the best in me — good preparation and off we go,” said Tsitsipas.

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MIAMI GARDENS: Russian Daniil Medvedev claimed his fourth ATP title of the year with an emphatic victory over Italy’s Jannik Sinner in the final of the Miami Open on Sunday.

Sinner had upset world number one and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in Friday’s semi-final, but the 21-year-old struggled in the heat against the fourth seed Medvedev, who triumphed 7-5, 6-3.

The win was Medvedev’s 19th career ATP title and his fifth in a Masters 1000 event and confirmed his dominance on hard courts in 2023.

Sinner, also beaten in the Miami final two years ago and now with a 0-6 record against the Russian, said he had not been at 100%.

“We woke up this morning not at my best, I felt a little bit sick….unfortunately today I couldn’t play at my best,” said the Italian who, however said there had been no question of him pulling out of the contest.

“No, it was not that bad. But, you know, with the heat, when you run a lot, it gets a little bit worse and worse. Obviously the first half an hour we played in the sun also,” he said.

Medvedev, who had already won three titles in three weeks at Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai before losing to Alcaraz in the Indian Wells final, started confidently, holding serve to love while Sinner’s first service game was a real battle.

Sinner had to save a break point and fought through a 26-shot rally before coming through at the end of a 10-minute game.

In contrast, Medvedev again served to love but Sinner was showing signs of settling as he held his serve and then the Italian broke Medvedev to go 3-2 up, with a deft touch volley.

Medvedev immediately broke back, however, with Sinner’s effort clipping the net and going out and after the Russian held again, the Italian had attention from the ATP trainer.

Sinner, looking uncomfortable in the bright sunshine, took a pill along with a powder in his water in the 87 F (30.5 C) heat.

Medvedev, looking composed and confident, grabbed the first set when Sinner was serving at 6-5 down and the Italian’s poor shot into the net handed the Russian the crucial break.

Medvedev quickly got ahead in the second set when Sinner sent a forehand long but just as quickly handed the break back to Sinner.

But Sinner was making too many errors and when Medvedev broke again to go 3-1 up, the Italian was unable to turn things around and the world number five completed his first ever win in Miami.

“I’m really happy. Today was a tough match. It was probably the hottest day and the most humid during the day,” Medvedev said.

“It was not easy conditions. I don’t know if Jannik had a small injury or cramp. I was also struggling, tried not to show it,” he added.

– At home on hard courts –

Medvedev’s 19 ATP Tour wins have come at 19 different events, but he had not won a Masters 1000 event since Toronto in 2021.

“I haven’t won’t such a big title in probably a year and a half. At the end I was quite shaky,” he said.

“Not even tight, because I’m not scared to win. But still the hands get a little shaky so the serve is a little bit tougher… I managed to get myself together and close the match.”

The 27-year-old has now won five of the six hard-court ATP Masters 1000s and has also reached the final at both hard-court Grand Slams, winning the 2021 US Open.

Now he must turn his attention to the clay courts where he has had much less success.

“I love hard courts, If it would be my choice there would be only hard courts,” he joked.

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MELBOURNE: Daniil Medvedev on Friday became the latest title contender to crash out of the men’s draw at the Australian Open, but Iga Swiatek led a charge of the women’s seeds into the last 16.

Russia’s Medvedev was runner-up at the last two Grand Slams in Melbourne but his tournament ended with a whimper in round three at the hands of Sebastian Korda.

The American, son of 1998 Australian Open champion Petr Korda, won 7-6 (9/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) as seventh seed Medvedev followed defending champion Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud in exiting in the first week.

Korda, who faces 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland next, told Rod Laver Arena: “An unbelievable match.

“I sort of knew what I had to do and I stuck with it even when I was going up and down with the emotions.

“I’m thrilled right now, I played amazing,” said the 22-year-old.

With world number one Carlos Alcaraz not involved because of injury, Medvedev’s surprise defeat to the 29th seed is another boost to nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic.

The hot favourite, who is nursing a hamstring problem, plays 27th seed Grigor Dimitrov on Saturday.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is now the highest remaining seed at three and the Greek star stretched his unbeaten streak this year to set up a last-16 clash with Italian Jannik Sinner.

The 24-year-old Tsitsipas, who is yet to drop a set, clinched his seventh straight win of 2023 by beating Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.

Tsitsipas is refusing to get carried away as he chases a first major title.

“There are no presents,” he warned.

“You should be going after it, you should be creating those opportunities and aiming big within yourself, sometimes surpass your own abilities.”

Also into the last 16 are sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and 18th seed Karen Khachanov.

The Russian defeated 16th-seeded American Frances Tiafoe in four sets.

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MONTREAL: Nick Kyrgios rallied to topple world number one Daniil Medvedev at the ATP Montreal Masters on Wednesday as the top three seeds tumbled in the second round.

Australia’s Wimbledon finalist beat Medvedev 6-7 (2/7), 6-4, 6-2 to produce his second career upset of a reigning number one after ambushing Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2014.

Unseeded American Tommy Paul also came from a set down to send second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz of Spain packing 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (9/7), 6-3 while unseeded Briton Jack Draper beat third-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 7-5, 7-6 (7/4).

Kyrgios started the landslide. The mercurial Aussie produced his usual on-court antics, complaining about a high bounce, hitting a ball into the stands to draw a warning and bickering with his player box in moments of tension.

But after gathering his formidable resources, the 27-year-old ranked 37th finished off Medvedev in exactly two hours.

“I don’t go in looking at the rankings, just the guy in front of me,” Kyrgios said. “I had a clean objective today — play a lot of serve and volley and execute better.

“”Hopefully I can keep this rolling and keep on winning.”

Both players were coming off weekend title wins, Kyrgios at the Washington 500 on Sunday and Medvedev at Los Cabos, Mexico, on Saturday.

Kyrgios has won 14 of his last 15 matches to improve to 29-7 for 2022. Medvedev lost for the 11th time in 2022, but by reaching the final at Los Cabos — where he lifted his first trophy of the season — he is assured of taking the number one ranking into his US Open title defense later this month.

He was barred from Wimbledon as the tournament excluded Russian and Belarussian players over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Alcaraz, who like Medvedev enjoyed a first-round bye, fared no better in his opening match, with the teenager admitting pressure got to him.

Alcaraz came into the event with two prestige Masters 1000 titles from Miami and Madrid and holding a 42-7 record this season.

“It was the first time that I couldn’t handle the pressure,” Alcaraz said. “I felt the pressure (of being) the number two seed and number four in the world.

“It was the first time that I felt this pressure.”

The youngster added: “I had chances, I was a break up in the second set, had chances to win the match.

“He played really good in the tough moments. He played great, and I couldn’t show my best.”

The 34th-ranked Paul claimed victory on a volley winner after holding off the Spaniard’s charge from 5-2 down in the third set.

“It was nice to finish this match at the net,” said Paul, who fired 36 winners to Alcaraz’s 33. “I did a lot of things well today. “I played a good level of tennis, comfortable tennis.”

Tsitsipas completed the hat-trick of losses for the tournament elite.

Draper, 20, earned his first career win over a top-10 opponent as he reached the third round in just over two hours with five breaks of the Tsitsipas serve.

Fourth seed Casper Ruud made it safely through, backing up his defeat earlier this season of Alex Molcan with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 victory over the Slovakian.

The Norwegian with three trophies so far in 2022 had to work to win the opening set after dropping serve as he tried to close it out leading 5-4.

However, he sealed his third-round place in straight sets for his 36th win of the season.

Elsewhere, Italian Jannik Sinner needed three sets to get past Adrian Mannarino 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 while Alex de Minaur lined up an all-Aussie Thursday match against Kyrgios by defeating Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (7/4), 7-5.

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LONDON: Daniil Medvedev, who won his first tournament of the year at the weekend, retained his position at the top of the ATP rankings published on Monday while Nick Kyrgios climbed to his highest rank in two and half years. 

Medvedev, who is over 1,000 points clear of the injured Alexander Zverev, won his first title since claiming the US Open almost a year ago when he roared past defending champion Cameron Norrie in the final of the hardcourt tournament in Los Cabos, Mexico.

Medvedev snapped a five-match losing streak in finals — a stretch that included his agonising five-set loss to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final in February.

He also came up short this year in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Halle. He did not get a chance at Wimbledon, where Russian and Belarussian players were banned because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In spite of losing his title, Norrie still moved up a place to 11 with the Pole Hubert Hurkacz nudging up to 10.

The man on the slide, down two places, is Jannik Sinner, who chose to skip the event in Washington, losing the points he gained last year when he won it.

Sinner’s absence left the door open for Australian Nick Kyrgios who followed his journey to the Wimbledon final with his first title in three years.

The Australian climbs 26 places to 37th, his best ranking since February 2020.

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LOS CABOS: World number one Daniil Medvedev won his first ATP title of 2022 on Saturday, roaring past defending champion Cameron Norrie 7-5, 6-0 in the final of the hardcourt tournament in Los Cabos, Mexico.

Medvedev snapped a five-match losing streak in finals – a stretch that included his agonizing, five-set loss to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final in February.

He also came up short this year in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Halle. He didn’t get a chance at Wimbledon, where Russian and Belarussian players were banned because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

His first trophy since he won the US Open last year — denying Novak Djokovic a calendar Grand Slam — comes just as Medvedev launches the final build-up to his title defence in the final Grand Slam of 2022.

Next, he’ll defend his Canadian Open title before tackling the Cincinnati Masters.

Defending Los Cabos champion Norrie did what he could in the opening set, but Medvedev gained a decisive break to lead 6-5 and once he’d served out the opening set there was simply no stopping him.

“It was not easy,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview.

“Cam is an amazing player, so it was really intense,”” he added. “When you play against him, you know that you have to fight for every point.”

Medvedev had two set points on his serve at 5-4, but was broken.

In the next game, he scraped his hand on the court reaching for a shot on the opening point and needed treatment because of the blood.

“I didn’t play bad in that game at 5-4,” Medvedev said. “So I knew I just had to stay there. Actually bleeding helped me I think a little bit so I could hold my nerve a little bit more.”

Medvedev was playing his first tournament since a quarter-final exit at Mallorca in June.

With each match, he looked more assured, and he ended the week without dropping a set against a modest array of opponents starting with 224th-ranked Australian Rinky Hijikata followed by 98th-ranked Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis and 38th-ranked Serb Miomir Kecmanovic.

Norrie was a tougher proposition. Ranked 12th, he has taken his tally of ATP titles to four since winning his first at Los Cabos last year.

He had reached his 10th final since the start of 2021 by beating second-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals.

Once Medvedev found his groove, however, Norrie had no answer.

“Every match was very good, but the final is always special,” Medvedev said. “In the final, you play the best player of this week, so it’s always a high-level match and I’m really happy that I managed to show some good level, some good shots in such an important match.”

Medvedev stamped himself the early US Open favourite, especially given the likely absence of Djokovic because of his refusal to be vaccinated against Covid-19 and the uncertainty surrounding injured Nadal.

The Spaniard, ranked third in the world, pulled out of the Montreal Masters this week as he recovers from an abdominal tear suffered at Wimbledon.

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LOS CABOS: World number one Daniil Medvedev, playing his first match in six weeks, beat Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday at the ATP hard court tournament in Los Cabos, Mexico.

It was a milestone 250th match win of the reigning US Open champion’s career.

“Someone told me this a few days ago,” Medvedev said after the match. “Otherwise I would not have known. That’s nice, a milestone in a way.

“I want more victories, but that’s nice to have 250. We’ll try to get more.”

Medvedev is playing his first tournament since bowing out of the quarter-finals at Mallorca on June 23. He missed Wimbledon.

Medvedev gained the first break of the match to claim the opening set.

He saved the first break point he faced in the opening game of the second, and gained the break he needed for a 4-2 lead against Hijikata.

The 21-year-old Australian world number 224 put up a fight, fending off a stream of break points before Medvedev closed it out after 90 minutes.

“It’s definitely not that easy to play after you stop for a while, especially (playing my) first match on hard courts since a long, long time — since Miami,” Medvedev said.

“Sensations were not bad. I could have just broken a little bit more, but when you win everything is fine.”

Medvedev next faces Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania, who beat Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.

Second-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime also advanced, beating Mexico’s Alex Hernandez 6-3, 7-5.

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LONDON: Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal headline the title chase at Wimbledon where eight-time champion Roger Federer, the world’s top two players and cherished ranking points will all be missing.

Djokovic is bidding for a seventh title at the All England Club to move level with US great Pete Sampras.

Nadal, fresh from a 14th French Open victory and a record-extending 22nd major, is halfway to the first men’s calendar Grand Slam in more than half a century.

The season’s third Slam tournament has already made political waves even before the first ball is served on Monday.

The decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine means there is no place for world number one Daniil Medvedev or eighth-ranked Andrey Rublev.

Both the ATP and WTA, who control the men’s and women’s tours, retaliated by stripping ranking points from the tournament.

For the first time since his debut in 1999 — notwithstanding the Covid-cancelled 2020 edition — Federer will be a no-show as the 40-year-old recovers from knee surgery.

Also missing is Germany’s world number two Alexander Zverev, who suffered serious ankle ligament damage in a horrific injury in his French Open semi-final against Nadal.

However, Medvedev and Zverev have never shone at Wimbledon with neither man making it past the fourth round.

Djokovic and Nadal, ranked three and four, are the top seeds meaning if they are to face each other for the 60th time, it can only be in the final.

Djokovic, the champion in 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2021, could be playing in his final Slam of the year.

His refusal to be vaccinated is likely to rule him out of the US Open later this year.

A bruising quarter-final loss to Nadal at the French Open which saw him deposed as champion in Paris will also likely provide extra motivation.

Nadal won the last of his two Wimbledon titles in 2010 having captured his first with an epic triumph over Federer two years earlier.

The 36-year-old Spaniard arrives at Wimbledon with the Australian and French Opens secured.

He is halfway to becoming only the third man — and first since Rod Laver in 1969 — to complete a calendar Grand Slam.

Nadal has endured a bittersweet relationship with Wimbledon.

Two titles have been accompanied by three lost finals as well as injury-enforced absences in 2004, 2009, 2016, and 2021.

There remains a question mark over his durability for the two weeks at Wimbledon having played the entire French Open with his troublesome left foot anesthetized.

Nadal has since undergone a course of radiofrequency stimulation, a treatment aimed at reducing nerve pain in his foot.

“I love Wimbledon,” said Nadal. “I had a lot of success there. A player like me, I am always ready to play Wimbledon.”

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KARACHI: Russia’s Daniil Medvedev has replaced his Serbian counterpart, Novak Djokovic, as the top-ranked Tennis player in the latest ATP Rankings, here on Monday.

Medvedev, who is set to miss the upcoming Wimbledon following its decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players will further increase his lead over the former top-ranked player Djokovic.

Following Wimbledon’s decision to ban the Russian and Belarusian players, the ranking points have been stripped of the mega event.

The defending champion – Serbia’s Djokovic is bound to lose more ranking points (2,000) as compared to Medvedev, who only stands to lose 180 points.

The Serb has slipped to the third position in the latest ATP Rankings, while Germany’s Alexander Zverev claimed the second.

It is the first instance since November 2003 that none of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer or Andy Murray appeared in the top-two ranking spots.

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PARIS: The second-ranked tennis player Daniil Medvedev secured a resounding 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 over the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic to book his spot in the fourth round of the ongoing French Open.

Medvedev, who seemed to be struggling with his strikes and was not at his sparkling best, eased past the Serb with a straight-sets victory to make his way into the next round.

The Russian blunted the in-form Kecmanovic with a straight-forward victory as he dropped only eight games in total in the progress.

The second seed kept the youngster on the back foot as he dominated the majority of the match with his accurate drop shots and strong net coverage.

After failing in the first four main draw matches in the French Open between 2017 and 2020. The Russian has found his luck this time around as he is just a victory away from reaching a second consecutive quarter-final.

He will lock horns with the winner of the third-round match between Croatia’s Marin Cilic or Frances Gilles Simon, in an attempt to make it to the final eight of the tournament.

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