March 31, (THEWILL) – Hubert Hurkacz ruined Daniil Medvedev’s dreams of taking the World number one spot from Novak Djokovic as the Pole remained on track to regain his title by qualifying for the Miami Open semi-finals.
In two hours and three minutes, the eighth-seeded Pole won 7-6(7) 6-3 and will face either Carlos Alcaraz or Miomir Kecmanovic in the quarterfinals.
As a consequence of the match, Djokovic will remain at the top of the ATP rankings heading into the clay season with Medvedev again unable to gain ground on the 20-time Grand Slam champion, who has not played in a while.
As the players walked to the court, all eyes were on Medvedev, with many anticipating the US Open champion to reach the final four in Miami for the first time in four appearances.
However, it was Hurkacz, the 2021 champion, who stormed out of the gates to seize control of the match right away. The Pole did not have to do much to break a lethargic Medvedev on the first try, as the top seed compounded a series of clumsy unforced errors with a double fault.
With Medvedev serving at 4-1 down, Hurkacz was backing up some powerful forehands with some savvy forays to the net, and a stunning backhand volley gave him an opportunity for the double break.
But, a brilliant crosscourt backhand saw Medvedev brush it off and go into clutch mode to stay in the game. The Russian had similarly snatched two break points in the following game with a scorching backhand up the line.
Hurkacz came back with a powerful serve and was as impressive in manipulating his way out of trouble to take a 5-2 lead.
The 25-year-old Pole kept attacking, earning two set points on his opponent’s serve but failing to convert. It would prove costly, as Medvedev broke back at the finish and forced a tie-break after a great wobble attempting to serve it out.
The world number two had rebounded from a similar sluggish start against Jenson Brooksby in the previous round, but he could not repeat the feat this time, as Hurkacz won the tiebreaker 9-7. It occurred on the fifth set point, and it had a huge element of luck to it, as a forehand shank at 7-7 miraculously dropped in, leaving Medvedev ruefully smiling.
In the opening game of the second set, the 26-year-old Russian survived a nine-minute examination of his serve, saving two more breakpoints to shift the scoreboard in his favour, but he continued to seem far from his best.
Hurkacz pressed once more in the fifth game, finally breaking through the top seed’s defences to seize control of the match. Just after the world number 10 consolidated a 4-2 lead, Medvedev summoned the trainer and seemed to be taking medication for stomach problems.
Hurkacz refused to be diverted from his purpose, breaking a tired Medvedev once more to earn a well-deserved victory and keep his back-to-back victories in Miami on track.
In his post-match remarks, Hurkacz said: “My return was pretty crucial. I was aiming to make a lot of returns and also I was able to make a lot of free points on my serve. That was important because playing rallies with Daniil is fun but they get long so you want some free points!
“(The conditions were) okay for me. I spend a lot of time in Florida so I’m used to the humidity. The conditions favoured me today.”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
