Miami Open: Daniil Medvedev sees off Andy Murray

ATP Tour

Daniil Medvedev moved into the third round of the Miami Open on Saturday with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Andy Murray.

Medvedev produced a near-faultless display against the three-time Grand Slam winner who battled hard but was unable to exact enough mistakes from the Russian.

Medvedev will now play Pedro Martinez or Cristian Garin in the next round.

“The last few seasons have been tough for him and I knew I would have to concentrate right from the start,” Medvedev said of Murray afterwards.

“I am just trying to do my best every time I go out onto the court.”

Medvedev was too solid from the baseline and on serve for the wild card to overcome. He did not face a break point in his one-hour, 30-minute victory.

“On the days when you serve good, your opponent doesn’t have this freedom to return, it helps you,” Medvedev said. “[In the] second set, the scoreline was easier, it was much tougher in the beginning, but when your opponent knows you’re probably going to get some aces and it’s not going to be easy for him to return, he gets pressure on his serve and many times that is what happens in close matches.”

It was a welcome return to form for Medvedev, who suffered a shock early exit at Indian Wells in his last tournament, a defeat that ended his reign as world number one.

Murray welcomed Czech legend Ivan Lendl back into his coaching team recently for a third spell but was left reflecting on another second round exit.

The Scot has now failed to back up first round wins at his last six tournaments.

Medvedev will next play Spaniard Pedro Martinez, who upset 27th seed Cristian Garin in the match that followed.

“I think it was a great match. It’s never easy, first-round matches, even if you practise on the same courts for one or two months, it’s never going to be the same as a competitive tournament match,” Medvedev said in his post-match interview.

“So I’m happy that I managed to have zero break points against me. I feel like I have some room for improvement, but it was a great match against an amazing player and I’m happy that I managed to go through.”

Andy Murray Daniil Medvedev

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