Daniil Medvedev Archives

Gasquet stuns Medvedev in the second round of Geneva Open

GENEVA: French Tennis player Richard Gasquet stunned the second-ranked Daniil Medvedev by the scores of 6-2, 7-6 (5) in the second round of the ongoing Geneva Open, here on Wednesday.

Medvedev, who came back from an injury faced a shocking defeat at the hands of Gasquet as the former looked rusty.

The Russian, who underwent hernia surgery last month, double-faulted for the seventh time on Gasquet’s first match point allowing the Frenchman to end a 36-match losing streak against opponents ranked No. 1 or 2 after beating Roger Federer 17 years ago at Monte Carlo.

Medvedev, however, recovered twice in the tie-breaker from being a mini-break down before faltering to serve again which assisted the French to clinch an important victory.

Following this victory, Gasquet has become just the 10th active player to record 35 or more victories over the opponents ranked in the top 10.

The 35-years-old will now face Kamil Majchrzak in the quarter-finals of the event on Thursday.

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Djokovic stays No.1 as Medvedev falls to Hurkacz at Miami Open

MIAMI: Daniil Medvedev said physical struggles destroyed any chance of a victory to reclaim the world’s number one ranking on Friday after falling to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (9/7), 6-3 at the Miami Open.

Medvedev dropped to second with a third-round loss to Gael Monfils at Indian Wells last week but would have taken back the top spot from Serbia’s Novak Djokovic had he defeated Hurkacz, the defending Miami Open champion.

Instead, 10th-ranked Hurkacz advanced to the semi-finals by ousting the reigning US Open champion at Hard Rock Stadium and 20-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic stays number one.

Hurkacz, now 2-2 all-time against the Russian, faces Carlos Alcaraz for a place in Sunday’s final after the 18-year-old Spanish sensation produced a scintillating display to beat 48th-ranked Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in three sets in one of the best matches of the tournament.

Medvedev said he found it hard to breathe at times and was cramping so badly in the locker room he was like “a fish on a sofa.”

“All match, I wasn’t feeling my best,” Medvedev said. “After the tough points, I was struggling to get my breath. I wasn’t recovering fast enough. You just have to fight but in the second set, I felt strange.

“I don’t often feel like this but it happens sometimes when it’s hot. Maybe it was the heat but I was feeling dizzy and tired and there was one game where I couldn’t serve anymore. In the locker room, I was cramping.”

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Daniil Medvedev breezes into last 16 in Miami Open

MIAMI: Daniil Medvedev moved into the last 16 of the Miami Open on Monday with a comprehensive straight-sets triumph over Spain’s Pedro Martinez.

The Russian top seed remains the favourite for the title and his 6-3, 6-4 victory was as clinical as the one which sent Andy Murray out of the tournament in the previous round.

Martinez competed well but once he was broken by Medvedev midway through the second set, the reigning US Open champion never looked back and wrapped up the win in one hour and 24 minutes.

“I hit 14 aces and felt pretty good, the second set was tight but I managed to stay consistent,” said Medvedev during a courtside interview.

The 26-year-old will regain the world number one ranking by making the semi-finals in Miami.

Medvedev will face 21-year-old Jenson Brooksby after the American defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 on Monday.

Brooksby made headlines at the start of the tournament for throwing his racket toward a ball boy during a first-round win which resulted in a $15,000 fine.

Brooksby knows he has to channel his emotions in the correct way and hopes his decent form continues against Medvedev.

A run to the fourth round of the US Open last year has been backed up with a last 16 defeat in Indian Wells and now the chance to reach the quarter-finals in Miami.

“This is a big learning curve for me,” he told AFP. “I am definitely the type of player that needs to play with emotion.

“But as my coach has said I have to work on balancing it better and finding other ways to let out frustration because what happened was unacceptable and I am definitely sorry. I need to learn from what happened.

“Daniil’s got a very solid game and is obviously in the top two in the world for a reason but the more matches I play on these big stages can only help me.”

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Medvedev beat Murray to advance in Miami Open

MIAMI: Daniil Medvedev is thriving on the pressure of being the man to beat after dispatching Andy Murray in straight sets at the Miami Open on Saturday to edge closer to regaining his world number one ranking.

The Russian top seed served superbly against the 34-year-old three-time Grand Slam champion to ease to a straightforward 6-4, 6-2 triumph at Hard Rock Stadium and will face Spain’s Pedro Martinez next.

Medvedev lost his No. 1 ranking after just 18 days, having failed to go deep in Indian Wells, but will regain it once again from the absent Novak Djokovic if he reaches the semi-finals in Florida.

With Djokovic and Rafael Nadal both missing, the 26-year-old is the favourite to claim his first Miami Open title and his performance against Murray showed he’s in the kind of form that will cause the rest of the field a multitude of problems.

“For sure, guys going against you are going to have more motivation if you are the top seed,” Medvedev told AFP.

“It could be the biggest win of their season but I like to be in this position. The more pressure you have, the more you expect from yourself.

“At the beginning of my career, I would be really happy when I was in the third round for the first time but now I want to achieve more. So yeah, there’s definitely more pressure but also more motivation to continue doing well.”

Medvedev was delighted to briefly reach the pinnacle of men’s tennis but is determined to ensure his next spell at the top won’t be as short.

“It felt good to touch it,” smiled Medvedev. “Reaching No.1 is something that nobody can take away from me even if it was for two weeks.

“But when I did lose it, I just headed back to the practice court and knew I had to get to the semis in Miami to get it back again.

“I have a lot of motivation to stay at No.1 for a long time.”

Medvedev upset by Monfils at Indians Wells, loses No.1 ranking

INDIAN WELLS: Daniil Medvedev was sent crashing out of the ATP/WTA Indians Wells Masters in a stunning defeat to Gael Monfils on Monday that ended the Russian’s three-week reign as world number one, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has reclaimed the top position.

French world number 28 Monfils produced a vintage performance to down Medvedev 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in just over two hours to advance to the fourth round.

It was the first time the 35-year-old Monfils has beaten a player ranked world number one since 2009.

The defeat means Djokovic will return to the top of the world rankings, three weeks after Medvedev took the top spot on February 28.

Monfils sealed victory in 2hr 6min after converting his sixth match point in brilliant sunshine at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in the California desert.

The veteran Frenchman thumped his chest and pointed at his Ukrainian wife Elina Svitolina in the stands following a superb performance.

“I’ve had a strong start to the year, felt strong, moving good,” Monfils said.

“I’m in my zone and I’m a tough opponent for anyone. It’s been a long time since I’ve beaten a world number one, so I’m pretty happy.”

Reigning US Open champion Medvedev had looked to be in control after clinically taking the first set immediately after breaking Monfils for a 5-4 lead.

Monfils broke early for a 3-1 lead in the second set, but Medvedev broke back to level at 3-3.

Monfils earned a set point in the eighth game with a brilliant backhand up the line before clinching the second set with a cheeky underarm serve.

Medvedev’s composure evaporated in the deciding set, with the Russian earning a code violation for smashing his racket in frustration after being broken in the first game.

Monfils held and then went a double break up before holding again for a 4-0 lead.

With the next two games going on serve, Medvedev was soon in trouble in the seventh game, going 0-40 and three match-points down after blasting an overhead smash long.

The Russian did well to claw back those three match points, and saved two more before Monfils finally converted his sixth.

Monfils, the 26th seed, will face rising Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round.

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