Daniil Medvedev never gave Andy Murray a chance.
The top-seeded Russian paved his way to try to regain the world number one ranking this Saturday, beating Murray 6-4, 6-2 in the second round of the Miami Open.
Medvedev never had a break point in any of his nine service games.
He can regain the top of the rankings if he reaches the semifinals in Miami.
“I’m glad I managed to, you know, have zero break points against me,” said Medvedev, who was bye in the first round as the top seed. “I feel like I have room for improvement. But it was a great match against an incredible player. And I’m glad I moved on.”
Only five men have held the top spot in the world rankings in 18 years, which currently belongs to Novak Djokovic. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have also been number one in the world, and Medvedev and Murray are the other two.
Murray was No. 1 in the world from November 2016 to August 2017, and that distinction was shared between Djokovic, Federer and Nadal since before Medvedev first got there on February 28.
Medvedev’s stay was brief. His three-week reign officially ended on Monday when Djokovic returned to the top of the ATP rankings. But with three more wins in Miami, the Russian will return to that spot.
“I still felt like in rallies and stuff I could hang on with him, and I didn’t feel like they were outplaying me from the back of the court,” said Murray, who came to Miami with a wild card and is continuing his comeback after undergoing surgery. hip rejuvenation. “I’m sure some will think otherwise.”
With Murray’s elimination, only one former Miami men’s champion remained in the race. It is the reigning monarch Hubert Kurkacz (8th) seed, who defeated ARthur Rinderknech 7-6 (5), 6-2 to advance to the third round.
Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka made it to the fourth round without ever stepping foot on the court. Osaka, a former world number one who won on Wednesday and Thursday in straight sets, earned an easy victory on Saturday when Karolina Muchova retired citing a need for recovery.
“I’m sad I didn’t get to play Naomi today,” Muchova tweeted. “After a long break from tennis, two tough matches in a row have been too much for my body and I need more time to recover.”
Several men’s seeds fell in their second-round matches, including Felix Auger-Aliassime (mo), Karen Khachanov (23rd), Daniel Evans (24th), Christian GArin (27th) and Albert Ramos Viñols (32nd).
