Medvedev accelerates past Koepfer to Miami QFs

Is Daniil Medvedev on the road to successfully defending a tour-level title for the first time at the Miami Open presented by Itau?

The 2023 champion delivered a rock-solid fourth-round showing Tuesday at the ATP Masters 1000 event, where he overcame a slow start to down Dominik Koepfer 7-6(5), 6-0. A number of uncharacteristic unforced errors from Medvedev made the first set a tight affair, but once he rallied from 0/4 to clinch the tie-break he barely looked back inside Hard Rock Stadium.

“I think sometimes it happens, when you lose the first set the way he lost it,” said Medvedev, when asked about the contrast between the two sets. “He played very good, probably was closer to winning it because of the 4/0 in the tie-break and when you lose such a set, especially when the points were tough, it brings your energy down.

“I knew I had to use that in the beginning of the second set. That’s why it was the most important and I managed to do it. Sometimes that happens, but the level was high today.”

Medvedev converted four of nine break points he earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats, as he increased his Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead against Koepfer to 3-0. He capitalised on a string of forehand errors from the German in the second set, and the No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings will now prepare for a quarter-final clash with 22nd seed Nicolas Jarry.

Make that 350 wins 🙌

The defending champ @DaniilMedwed is into the quarter-finals after a powerful display against Koepfer 7-6(5) 6-0✌️@miamiopen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/deAaOjNlxk

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 26, 2024

Medvedev’s 90-minute triumph was his 350th at tour-level. The 28-year-old acknowledged the feeling of closing out the match was markedly differently to how he remembers his first tour-level win against Horacio Zeballos in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2016.

“I would say before the match, the desire to win is the same, but for sure the feeling of winning is different," said Medvedev. "I remember my first win, I was 5-1 up in the second and was shaking, trembling, thinking ‘Oh my god I’m going to win my first ATP match’. Now it’s like, ‘If I win, good for me, I just need to finish it, and we go home’.

“So the feelings are different, but the desire is I would say the same, and that’s what keeps me going.”

A 20-time tour-level titlist, Medvedev is aiming to win the same tournament twice for the first time in his career. He has three times come within one win of successfully defending an ATP Tour crown — at the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals, the 2021 Rolex Paris Masters and the 2023 Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

Jarry booked his place in his second ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final after ousting seventh seed Casper Ruud 7-6(3), 6-3.

The Chilean struck the ball with conviction, crushing 39 winners to Ruud’s 17 throughout their one-hour, 50-minute contest. Jarry also worked his way forward often, winning 16 of 23 net points to level his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Ruud at 2-2.

“I’m very happy with the result, very happy with the way I played today,” said Jarry. “I was very strong on court, not missing many easy balls. The conditions were so tough. The wind was extreme and Casper also, he’s a grinder. I’m very happy.”

Relentless!

Clinical #ConversionScore 🎯plus big forehand #ShotQuality 💪secures Jarry his second top 10 win of the year!#TennisInsights | @atptour | @MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/H9kCjWZ0FE

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) March 26, 2024

In front of energised Chilean fans on Grandstand, the three-time tour-level tilitst Jarry improved to 2-0 against Top 10 opponents this season, having also defeated Carlos Alcaraz at the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires.

The 28-year-old, who saved two match points to beat Jack Draper in the second round, will next have another crack at a Top 10 player, Medvedev, who beat Jarry in Barcelona in 2019, their lone Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

Jarry is the first Chilean quarter-finalist in Miami since 2004, when Fernando Gonzalez reached the last four.