Daniil Medvedev buoyed by swift win over Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open
Daniil Medvedev is confident his double-quick win over world No 192 Mackenzie McDonald will prove a boon for his quest to claim a first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in Melbourne this week.
The fourth-seeded Russian needed just one hour and 29 minutes to progress to the quarter finals with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 win, ending McDonald’s remarkable run less than two years after a career-threatening hamstring injury.
McDonald simply had no answer to the power and precision of Medvedev, who has never previously reached the last eight in Melbourne but believes he has given himself the best possible opportunity.
Medvedev said in his on-court interview: “It was a great match – I was hitting the ball great, I was serving great and I finished in one-thirty which is important because in the late stages of a Grand Slam you want to make fast matches.”
Medvedev’s brief outing was all the more important as he was stretched to five sets by Filip Krajinovic in the previous round, when the Russian almost uncharacteristically blew a two-set lead.
Despite his often exhilarating shot choices, it was soon clear McDonald had little in his weaponry to trouble Medvedev, who double-broke for a 5-1 lead in the opening set before closing it out despite the gutsy American salvaging one break back.
Another double-break secured Medvedev the second set in less than an hour, and it was possibly the memory of Krajinovic’s fightback that caused the Russian to show delight when a brilliant cross-court backhand broke McDonald in the seventh game of the third.
Another break wrapped up victory for Medvedev and a last eight meeting with either compatriot Andrey Rublev or compatriot Casper Ruud.
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