“I know Rafa Nadal will be number one at the end of the year, unless I win every tournament I play.”. Daniil Medvedev is clear that he needs a near-perfect end to the season to retain the number 1 ATP ranking he has held since June 13.
So far he has started off on the right foot with his first stop on the way to the US Open, the tournament in Los Cabos (Mexico). The Russian defeated Australian Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday. to add his 250th victory as a professional and reach the quarterfinals.
With a great performance on his serve, with 84 percent of the points won in the first, Medvedev imposed conditions against a rival that came from qualifying who held well, but suffered a break in each set and that’s where the match went.
Daniil struggled to decipher Hijikita’s serve. He did it at the best time, in the tenth game to win 6-4.
In the second row the trend was repeated; Hijikata, ranked 224th, defended his two-handed backhand well until Medvedev broke in the sixth game and cruised to victory.
In the eight best stage the Russian will face the Lithuanian Ricardas Berankisracket number 98 in the world, knocking out Argentine Facundo Bagnis 7-6(4), 6-4.
A few moments before the Canadian Second-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime recovered from a pair of breaks in the second set to defeat Alex Hernandez of Mexico, 6-3, 7-5.
In the second set, Hernández sprung a surprise by breaking Aliassime’s serve in the second game, who was training with Toni Nadal. The Canadian was broken in the fifth, but the Mexican broke serve again in the sixth and forced his rival to bring out his best tennis to win.
In the quarterfinals, Auger-Aliassime will face American Steve Johnson (92), who defeated Australian Thanasis Kokkinakis, 75th player in the world, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4.
For his part, the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic defeated Australian Jordan Thompson 6-4, 6-2 and will look for his pass in the semifinals against the American Brandon Nakashima, who was on his 21st birthday, defeated Max Purcell 6-3, 6-3.
In another game the Moldovan Radu Albot eliminated Australian Jason Kubler 6-4, 6-2.
At the close of the match on center court, the British Cameron Norrie, current champion, will face Taiwanese Chun-Hsin Tseng.
Los Cabos tournament results
Round of 16
Daniil Medvedev d. Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-3
Ricardas Berankis over Facundo Bagnis 7-6 (7/4), 6-3
Cameron Norrie beat Chun-Hsin Tseng 6-3, 6-0
Miomir Kecmanovic d. Jordan Thompson 6-4, 6-2
Brandon Nakashima d. Max Purcell 6-3, 6-3
Radu Albot d. Jason Kubler 6-4, 6-2
Steve Johnson d. Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 6-4
Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Alex Hernandez, 6-3, 7-5
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
