Daniil Medvedev topped Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2 within the second spherical of the Miami Open
Daniil Medvedev topped Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2 within the second spherical of the Miami Open
Daniil Medvedev by no means gave Andy Murray an opportunity.
The highest-seeded Medvedev opened his bid to reclaim the No. 1 rating Saturday by topping Murray 6-4, 6-2 within the second spherical of the Miami Open. Medvedev by no means confronted a break level in any of his 9 service video games.
He can regain the No. 1 spot by making the Miami semifinals.
“Positively, I’ve loads of motivation to try to get it again,” Medvedev mentioned.
Solely 5 males previously 18 years have held the No. 1 rating that’s at the moment held by Novak Djokovic. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are additionally previous No. 1’s — whereas Medvedev and Murray are the others. Murray was No. 1 from November 2016 via August 2017, and that distinction was handed off between Djokovic, Federer and Nadal since earlier than Medvedev acquired there for the primary time on Feb. 28.
Medvedev’s keep was transient; his three-week reign ended formally on Monday when Djokovic returned to the highest of the rankings. However with three extra wins in Miami, Medvedev could be again on high.
“I nonetheless felt like within the rallies and stuff I may grasp with him, and I didn’t really feel like from the again of the courtroom I used to be getting like actually outplayed,” mentioned Murray, who acquired into Miami on a wild card and is continuous his comeback after present process hip resurfacing surgical procedure. “I’m certain some individuals will assume in any other case.”
Murray is a two-time Miami Open winner, these victories coming on the event’s former house in close by Key Biscayne. His loss meant just one previous Miami males’s winner stays within the area — that being defending champion Hubert Hurkacz, the No. 8 seed who defeated Arthur Rinderknech 7-6 (5), 6-2 and moved into the third spherical.
In the meantime, Naomi Osaka moved into the fourth spherical with out ever taking the courtroom. Osaka — the previous girls’s No. 1-ranked participant who acquired straight-set wins on Wednesday and Thursday to get into Spherical 3 — acquired a walkover victory Saturday when Karolina Muchova withdrew citing a necessity for restoration.
“I’m unhappy that I can’t put up a battle towards Naomi at this time,” Muchova wrote on Twitter. “After an extended break from tennis, 2 robust matches in row have been quite a bit for my physique and I want longer to get well.”
Muchova missed about seven months due to an belly harm and hadn’t performed for the reason that U.S. Open earlier than returning in Miami. She recorded straight-set wins over Tereza Martincova and Leylah Fernandez in Miami, however neither was straightforward — three of the 4 units went to tiebreaks and he or she spent almost 5 hours on the courtroom.
Osaka topped No. 13 Angelique Kerber within the second spherical and gained’t should face one other seed till a minimum of the quarterfinals. The earliest No. 22 seed Belinda Bencic may see one is within the semifinals; Bencic, one among solely three seeds — out of a doable 16 — to make the third spherical on the highest half of the draw, rolled previous Heather Watson 6-4, 6-1.
“It is dependent upon me, how I play, how I really feel,” Bencic mentioned. “I am not at all times wanting on the draw so I don’t know what is going on on.”
One other seeded third-round winner on the ladies’s aspect was Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins of the U.S. The No. 9 seed performed via some neck soreness and downed Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-4.
A variety of males’s seeds have been overwhelmed of their second-round matches Saturday, together with No. 7 Felix Auger-Aliassime, No. 23 Karen Khachanov, No. 24 Daniel Evans and No. 27 Christian Garin.
Tommy Paul of the U.S. acquired the upset over Khachanov, successful 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (3). Paul improved to 14-7 on the yr and can subsequent meet No. 11 Taylor Fritz, the highest-ranked American. Fritz wanted three units to beat qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin on Saturday.
Different seeded males’s winners included No. 15 Roberto Bautista Agut, No. 25 Alex De Minaur and No. 29 Aslan Karatsev.
