Former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev advanced to the Adelaide International quarterfinals on Wednesday, defeating countryman Miomir Kecmanovic 6-0, 6-3.
In his first game of the season, Daniil Medvedev had to fight tooth and nail, saving nine set points in the opening set of 2023. However, the tennis star did not sweat on Wednesday as he eased past Kecmanovic in straight sets.
"It's always better to win 6-0 than to win 7-6 saving nine set points and playing one hour, 20 [minutes]. But tennis is not as easy, otherwise, everyone would be No. 1, but we have only one. So happy with my level today against a strong opponent. The second set was tougher, but I managed to close it out at the end and looking forward to my next matches," said Medvedev as quoted by ATPTour.com.
The third seed won in 67 minutes after saving the lone break point he encountered. Medvedev has won each of the seven sets they have played to take a 3-0 advantage in their ATP head-to-head series.
In the second set, Kecmanovic stayed in the match by holding his first three service games. When the score was 4-3, though, Medvedev struck the decisive blow by blasting a laser-like backhand winner up the line to secure his fourth service break of the match.
If Medvedev and Novak Djokovic both get it to the semi-finals, they will square off in an entertaining game in Adelaide. However, Medvedev will focus on Karen Khachanov for the next match.
Karen Khachanov defeated Jack Draper, a contestant in the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals, 6-4, 6-2. Throughout the contest, the 26-year-old did not lose a serve.
"To be honest I was expecting a very tough match against Jack because we had a good battle in the US Open, which unfortunately finished not in the way I wanted, but he retired in the end of the third set. He's on a good run, he's a good rising-up player, younger than me. To be honest with you from the beginning until the end, I played a very solid match, very good performance from my side," mentioned Khachanov.
( With inputs from ANI )
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