Miami: Defending Miami Open champion Daniil Medvedev advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-0 win over Germany’s Dominik Koepfer on Tuesday, while Casper Ruud crashed out in straight sets.
Second seed Jannik Sinner of Italy also moved into the last eight, beating Australia’s Christopher O’Connell 6-4, 6-3, while top seed Carlos Alcaraz will face Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti later on Tuesday.
Medvedev got off to an unusually sloppy start on the stadium court with a series of unforced errors and trailed 4-0 in the first set tie-break.
However, after overcoming that deficit, Medvedev won all the remaining games, showing that despite his concerns about the balls deteriorating rapidly on the hard surface, the conditions suited him.
The Russian suggested Koepfer struggled to recover from the blow as he saw his tie-break lead disappear.
“I think that sometimes happens when you lose the first set like he did. He played very well, he was probably closer to winning because of the 4-0 tie-break and when you lose a set like that, especially when the points were tough, it lowers your energy,” he said.
“I knew I had to use it at the beginning of the second set. That’s why it was the most important thing and I managed to do it. It happens sometimes, but the level was high today,” he added.
World No.4 Medvedev will face Chile’s Nicolas Jarry, who upset Norway’s seventh seed Ruud with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 win.
Cheered on by a large contingent of Chilean supporters, Jarry had 39 winners to Ruud’s 17 and was delighted to progress to the last eight.
“I’m very happy with how I played. I was very strong on the court, not many easy balls were missing. The conditions were so difficult. The wind was extreme and so was Casper, he’s a grinder,” he said.
Also read: Djokovic parts ways with coach Goran Ivanisevic
Jarry said he will have to be on top of his mental game against the crafty Medvedev.
“The other player is desperate on the court, so you have to be steady and mentally calm,” he said.
Sinner was trailing 3-1 in the first set when the Australian cleverly mixed up his approach and asked his Italian opponent various questions.
At 0-30 down, he faced a potential double break but responded strongly to come back and take the set after 58 minutes.
The second set was more straightforward for Sinner, who broke O’Connell’s first game on serve before serving to wrap up the win.
“He started really well, I made a few mistakes. When you crash, especially at the beginning, it’s always hard, mentally too,” Sinner said.
Sinner will face Czech Tomáš Machač, who advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-3 win over another Italian, Matteo Arnaldi.
