Daniil Medvedev ‘not comfortable’ in victory over Lorenzo Musetti
Daniil Medvedev has now notched two victories over Lorenzo Musetti within six days after ending the Italian’s participation in the Cincinnati Masters less than a week after beating him in Toronto.
The world No 3 Medvedev was dominant throughout his 6-3, 6-2 triumph against Musetti on Wednesday at the Western & Southern Open to book his third-round spot in Cincinnati in his opening match.
Medvedev now leads 2-0 in the ATP Tour head-to-head between himself and Musetti with their two recent clashes their only meeting.
The wind and court layout have proven a challenge for all players but Medvedev admitted that he was never comfortable despite sweeping to victory.
“I think it’s tough for anyone to be comfortable [quickly] here,” said Medvedev of the fast Cincinnati courts made even trickier by gusts of wind.
“Tough conditions here, they changed the court. But then it comes to being the better in the tough conditions, and that’s what I managed to do today.
“We both made some mistakes, we both made some double faults and stuff like this, but I managed to be a little bit better in important moments and actually I felt like I was playing better and better during the match. So that’s a positive thing for the next round.”
Medvedev appeared unflappable on the road to recording his Tour-leading 23rd ATP Masters 1000 victory of the year, with the exception of losing service in his first game of the week in Ohio. He defeated Musetti on Grandstand in 78 minutes, outhitting him 25 to 10 in the clean winners stakes.
Medvedev, who won the first of his six Masters 1000 titles at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre in 2019, has warm memories of Cincinnati. He will face German 16th seed and former champion Alexander Zverev in the third round as he seeks his sixth tour-level victory of 2023. Zverev blasted 10 aces in a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan.
“It was my first Masters 1000 win, so always special memories [here],” said Medvedev. “Today was probably the coolest day I have ever seen in Cincinnati, so that was great and I hope all the week is going to be like this.”
Medvedev is always a contender for a title on hard courts despite his unconventional style which sees him take up an ultra-deep return position often standing six metres or more behind the baseline to return first serves.
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