Early in the morning of March 28, Moscow time, the first men’s singles quarterfinal matches at the Miami (USA) supertournament ended. Only one Russian tennis player reached the top eight: the 2021 US Open champion, Daniil Medvedev, seeded third. His opponent was the representative of Chile, Nicholas Harry (22), 28 years old. In the fourth round, Medvedev defeated German Dominik Köpfer (7-6, 6-0), and Harry unexpectedly defeated seventh seed Casper Ruud 7-6, 6-3.
Overall, Harry is a classic South American dirt driver. He has six appearances in ATP tournament finals, three of which he won, two in 2023. Of course, all of this happened on the field. At the beginning of the 2024 season, the Chilean broke into the top 20 of the world rankings for a while, updating his personal record, but then fell out of it. As for personal meetings between Nicholas and Daniil, the advantage, although very small, was on the side of the Russian. Until that moment, the rivals had only met once, and in the quarterfinals of Barcelona 2019 Medvedev was stronger (6-3, 6-4), by the way, on clay.
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In the first set, Harry tried to be active, but at the same time he made a lot of mistakes and this disappointed him. Medvedev served well, looked better in the exchanges and, of course, won the first game with two breaks: 6:2 in 33 minutes.
But in the second game a fight ensued. The Chilean served better, changed tactics and began to approach the net frequently, and at the same time successfully. Up to 5:5 inclusive, the rivals were left without break points, and in the eleventh game the Russian played the only break point for two in the entire set. In the tiebreaker Daniil lost 3:5, but managed to recover and did not allow his opponent to advance to the third set. Medvedev took advantage of the third match point after Harry made two errors in a row: 6:2, 7:6 (9:7) in 1 hour and 42 minutes.
In the semi-finals, Medvedev will face Jannik Sinner (2). In the quarterfinals he beat the Czech Tomas Machac 6: 4, 6: 2. In the Miami 2023 final, the Russian defeated Sinner. In personal meetings, Daniil is ahead: 6-4. But the last four matches, including the final of the 2024 Australian Open, were won by the Italian.
“Obviously it will be a difficult game. He reached the final in Indian Wells. Furthermore, he has confidence in himself. He plays very well, especially here in this tournament. Last year he won.
This will potentially be a very tactical match. I have to be prepared if it starts like it did in Australia. You should be prepared and try to resolve it earlier. Then maybe something will change. So let’s take a look. This will be an interesting test for me. I hope to be able to play good tennis,” Yannick said at a press conference after reaching the semifinals.
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Miami is definitely one of Medvedev’s favorite Masters. He has two steps left to defend his title. And during his career here, Daniil already has 18 wins, more than in any other ATP-1000 tournament.
The matches won by Daniil Medvedev at the Masters
18Miami16Indian Wells15Cincinnati13Canada10Paris7Shanghai, Monte Carlo6Rome3Madrid
And the last quarterfinals were played in the women’s category. Ekaterina Alexandrova (14) took to the court with world number five Jessica Pegula of the United States. In the fourth round she defeated her compatriot Emma Navarro (7:6, 6:3), but Alexandrova presented perhaps the main sensation of the entire tournament, eliminating four-time TBS champion and world number one Iga Swiatek – 6: 4, 6. :2.
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Previously, Alexandrova and Pegula faced each other only once. In the round of 16 of Rome 2021, Jessica was stronger by 6:2, 6:4. Today the Russian took revenge for that defeat. In the first set, the tennis players reached the score 3: 3 without break points, and then Ekaterina began to make errors (18 unforced errors per set!), She twice lost her serve and lost the game by 3 :6.
In the second set, Alexandrova immediately made a break and in the seventh game she again took her opponent’s serve for 5:2. The Russian failed in the eighth game, losing her serve to love. But on the second attempt she still served for the match without giving up a single point: 6:4.
In the decisive game, Ekaterina took the lead with a break in the fifth game, but Pegula immediately recovered (from the fourth break point!) for 3:3. However, the Russian ultimately performed better, acting offensively. In the ninth game, Alexandrova made a decisive break, winning the game 30:0 on the American’s serve, after which she served for the match, taking advantage of the second match point: 3:6, 6:4, 6 :4 in 2. hours.
“It was very difficult for me because Pegula played incredibly. In the third set, there were times when he couldn’t figure out how he could get the ball back. But he always came back.
I tried to earn every point, as if I knew she would be everywhere and that I needed to do something. And I tried to wait and take advantage of all the opportunities that came my way,” Ekaterina is quoted in the WTA press service.
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Ekaterina Alexandrova’s emotions after reaching the semifinals of the Miami tournament
In the semi-finals, Alexandrova, who reached the 1,000 semi-finals for the second time in her career (and for the first time on hard court), will play the 2022 Australian Open finalist, the world’s No. 53 racket. , Danielle Collins. It is worth noting that, after the results of the tournament, Ekaterina for the first time in her career will enter the top 15 of the WTA ranking (and if she continues to win in Miami, she will rise even higher). Collins in the quarterfinals was stronger than Carolina García (23) 6:3, 6:2. And in the other semifinal, 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina (4) and two-time AO winner Victoria Azarenka (27) will compete.
The Miami supertournament will end on Sunday, March 31. Follow all the events of the “Championship”.
