Medvedev closes in on No. 1 ranking; Osaka to Miami semis

1 / 11

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

Daniil Medvedev of Russia returns a shot from Jenson Brooksby, during the Miami Open tennis tournament, Tuesday, March 29, 2022, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. ā€“ Daniil Medvedev is one win away from returning to No. 1. And Naomi Osaka is two wins away from being a tournament champion again.

Shaking off a slow start, the top-seeded Medvedev reached the quarterfinals of the Miami Open on Tuesday by defeating Jenson Brooksby of the U.S. 7-5, 6-1.

Recommended Videos



Medvedev has yet to drop a set in his three Miami matches. Heā€™ll face No. 8 seed and defending Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz in the quarters ā€” and if Medvedev prevails there, heā€™ll be assured of supplanting Novak Djokovic and returning to No. 1 in the world.

ā€œIā€™m not the kind of guy whoā€™s going to say, ā€˜Yeah, Iā€™m the best,ā€™ā€ Medvedev said.

The computer might say it for him soon enough. The Russian held the No. 1 ranking briefly, lost it to Djokovic again about a week ago and is now closing in on capturing it again.

Brooksby jumped out to an immediate lead, breaking Medvedevā€™s first service game and wound up serving for the first set ā€” two points away at 5-4, 30-15.

It was all Medvedev from there.

Medvedev won 11 of the remaining 13 points in the set, breaking Brooksby to tie it up, holding at love for 6-5 and then breaking again to finish off the 7-5 win. The second set was never in doubt, with Medvedev running out to a 3-0 lead and winning 16 of the 19 points played on his serve.

ā€œJenson has the potential to be a top player,ā€ Medvedev said. ā€œWhen you say top, you never know ā€” No. 1, No. 3 or No. 10 ā€” but heā€™s a really good player and I think heā€™s playing better than his ranking.ā€

Hurkacz prevailed over Harris 7-6 (3), 6-2 and improved to 11-1 all-time in Miami.

No. 2 Alexander Zverev of Germany and No. 6 Casper Ruud of Norway will meet in another quarterfinal. Zverev beat Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia 6-4, 6-4, while Ruud ousted 10th-seeded Cameron Norrie of Britain 6-3, 6-4.

No. 9 Jannik Sinner of Italy also advanced, beating Nick Kyrgios of Australia 7-6 (3), 6-3. Kyrgios was docked a point, and then a game, for outbursts.

Sinner will play Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in the quarterfinals. Cerundolo beat No. 28 Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-2 on Tuesday ā€” avenging Tiafoe's win in the third round over his brother, Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

And the fourth men's quarterfinal will see No. 14 Carlos Alcaraz against unseeded Miomir Kecmanovic ā€” both of whom pulled off upsets Tuesday. Alcaraz beat No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-3. Kecmanovic ousted No. 13 Taylor Fritz in the nightcap, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

In women's quarterfinal play, the unseeded Osaka ā€” who hasn't won a tournament since the 2021 Australian Open ā€” made quick work of No. 9 Danielle Collins of the U.S. The former world No. 1 needed only an hour to overpower Collins 6-2, 6-1 and make the Miami semifinals for the first time.

ā€œThis is my childhood tournament and I would love to win here,ā€ said Osaka, who spent part of her youth living in South Florida. ā€œI've got to take it one round at a time.ā€

Collins ā€” who has been dealing with neck pain ā€” needed a medical timeout during the match.

ā€œShe's a fighter," Osaka said. ā€œShe fought through the match."

Next up for Osaka: No. 22 Belinda Bencic, who, like Osaka, continued her roll through the tournament.

Bencic hasn't faced a seeded player yet and hasn't come close to dropping a set, making the semifinals with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Daria Saville.

Bencic has won 48 of the 65 games she's played in the tournament.

ā€œIā€™m really happy I reached a great result here," Bencic said. ā€œEverything else is a bonus."

___

More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports


Loading...

Recommended Videos