After long wait, Medvedev makes fast start in Miami

Daniil Medvedev made a confident start to his title defense at the Miami Open presented by Itau Saturday, defeating Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 6-2 to reach the third round.

The match had been scheduled as the feature night match on Stadium court Friday but was cancelled due to rain. But the switch to afternoon conditions and Grandstand court proved no barrier to the World No. 4, who improved to 4-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head Series against the Hungarian.

“Yesterday was the toughest, as I was 99 per cent sure I wouldn’t play [due to the rain] and I would like to have stayed at the hotel, but I couldn’t risk a walkover,” Medvedev said about having to wait to play his opener. “I’m ready to play whenever. I like to play.

“It was tough for both of us to make winners and I knew I needed to stay calm…. The first match is always the toughest. Hopefully this is just the start.

Medvedev is attempting to successfully defend a title for the first time in his career. The 28-year-old has won 20 different titles, including 18 on hard court. He next faces No. 30 seed Cameron Norrie, who defeated 21-year-old Italian Flavio Cobolli 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-2.

Against Fucsovics, Medvedev was clutch when it mattered most, converting all three break point opportunities and saving both break points on his own serve according to Infosys ATP Stats. He finished the match with flair, breaking out a serve/volley on match point that ended with a winning drop volley.

Fucsovics is No. 86 in the PIF ATP Rankings, more than 50 places lower than his career-high of No. 31. He slips to a 3-6 match record on the season and 151-151 on his career.

Seventh seed Casper Ruud needed three sets to win his opener, finishing strong to defeat #NextGenATP Frenchman Luca Van Assche 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-1 in two hours. Ruud dropped serve twice but converted five of seven break opportunities on his opponent's serve. The Norwegian will next play 27th-seeded Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who defeated 19-year-old Chinese Shang Juncheng.

Andy Murray claimed consecutive match wins for the first time since Toronto last year when he defeated No. 29 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6(0), 6-3. The 14-time ATP Masters 1000 champion, who now has 31 career match wins in Miami, next meets Czech Tomas Machac, who upset fifth seed Andrey Rublev in the second round.