Daniil Medvedev reaches the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open after a one-hour, 46-minute match against Denis Shapovalov.
The match started well for Shapovalov after he fought off four break points and took a 5-4 lead. However, Medvedev tied the score 5-5 in the next game and Shapovalov committed a forced error at the net on the first point. This led to a double fault which put the match at 30-15 in Medvedev’s favor.
Shapovalov fought back, tying the game 30-30 but Medvedev eventually won the next two points and the match. In the deciding match of the series, Medvedev took an early lead after serving to love.
He converted that lead into a set point with an ace, then finished the match with a serve. This puts Shapovalov and Medvedev’s career-wide record at 3-2 in Medvedev’s favor.
Medvedev took an uncharacteristic early exit from the Canadian Masters earlier but managed to get the win against Shapovalov. The number one ranked player is satisfied with his performance and will be playing against Taylor Fritz next.
“In general, I managed to be pretty constant,” Medvedev said.
“I got a lot of break opportunities. Broke first in the first set. Served pretty well even in the game where I lost my serve. In general, happy with my level and looking forward to the next matches.”
Other competitors
Fritz had a difficult match ahead of him as he was a set down against Andrey Rublev, the sixth seed of the tournament. However, he managed to get his footing in the second set and eventually took the series over Rublev. This win pushed his rankings higher than they’ve ever been. Fritz is now ranked 13 in the world and is the closest he’s ever been to entering the top 10.
“Obviously, I want to go even further, semis, finals, win the title but to put another Masters quarter-final on the record for the year helps a lot,” Fritz said.
Borna Coric is on a tear after winning against both Rafael Nadal and Roberto Bautista Agut at the U.S. Open. Coric used to be rank 12 but had to take a break due to shoulder surgery and fell to rank 152.
He reportedly experienced pain in May 2021 and decided to undergo surgery after exhausting his options for treatment. For some time after the surgery concluded, Coric was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to continue his tennis career due to the potential side effects of the surgery.
“It’s never easy to come back up after a big injury. I was out for one year and it’s never easy to come back and play good tennis so every win you can get is hugely important also for my confidence and also for my ranking as my ranking is not there yet where I want it to be,” said Coric.
However, the Croatian player’s performance in the U.S. Open is showing fans that he is back and ready to compete with the other top players. His match against Agut was particularly noteworthy, being a clean 6-2 6-3 victory.
Coric will face Félix Auger-Aliassime for his next match, who recently won a comeback victory against Jannik Sinner.