Daniil Medvedev takes another step towards Novak Djokovic clash in Adelaide

ATP Tour

James Richardson
January 4, 2023

Daniil Medvedev is one match away from potentially booking a semi-final date with Novak Djokovic in Adelaide.

The former World No 1 breezed past Miomir Kecmanovic 6-0, 6-3 to advance to the Adelaide International 1 quarter-finals on Wednesday.

It was his third win in as many meetings with Kecmanovic on the ATP Tour.

Medvedev insists there is no such thing as an easy match at this level but was grateful not to face the same kind of resistance he had in his opening match.

Indeed Kecmanovic was able to put up some resistance in the second set after Medvedev quickly put him away in the first.

“It’s always better to win 6-0 than to win 7-6 saving nine set points and playing one hour, 20 [minutes], but tennis is not as easy. Otherwise everyone would be No. 1, but we have only one.

“So happy with my level today against a strong opponent. The second set was tougher, but managed to close it out at the end and looking forward to my next matches.”

The former ATP Rankings king is set to face an opponent who he knows well off the court in compatriot Karen Khachanov.

Khachanov downed Great Britain’s Jack Draper 6-4, 6-2 to progress and one only needs to cast their mind back to the US Open, where he reached the semi-finals, for a testament to his ability.

He has conceded now that he felt that the Brit’s retirement tainted his win over Draper at the US Open and that his follow-up victory has backed up the Grand Slam result.

“To be honest I was expecting a very tough match against Jack because we had a good battle in the US Open, which unfortunately finished not in the way I wanted, but he retired in the end of the third set,” Khachanov recalled. “He’s on a good run, he’s a good rising-up player, younger than me. To be honest with you from the beginning until the end, I played a very solid match, very good performance from my side.”

However, Daniil Medvedev conceded that he wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from his good friend, having not faced him in a competitive match for some time.

“I actually don’t remember exactly where was the last time we played,” Medvedev said. “We’ve both changed a lot. He’s a very strong opponent, he can beat anybody. He beat Jack today, who is a young guy on the rise, so looking forward to this tough match.”

Daniil Medvedev