Two clashes in the space of six days, two commanding victories for Daniil Medvedev against Lorenzo Musetti.
The third-seeded Medvedev produced a dominant 6-3, 6-2 triumph against the Italian on Wednesday at the Western & Southern Open to book his third-round spot in Cincinnati. Having also prevailed against Musetti at last week’s National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Toronto, Medvedev now leads 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
“I think it’s tough for anyone to be comfortable [quickly] here," said Medvedev of the fast Cincinnati courts. "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.”
Aside from dropping serve in his opening game of the week in Ohio, Medvedev was rock-solid on the way notching his Tour-leading 23rd ATP Masters 1000 win of the season. He outhit Musetti by 25 winners to 10 in a 78-minute victory on Grandstand.
Cincinnati holds fond memories for Medvedev, who lifted the first of his six Masters 1000 crowns at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in 2019. His third-round opponent as he chases his sixth tour-level title of 2023 will be German 16th seed and former champion Alexander Zverev, who fired 10 aces in a 7-5, 6-4 win over Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka
“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.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
The third-seeded Medvedev produced a dominant 6-3, 6-2 triumph against the Italian on Wednesday at the Western & Southern Open to book his third-round spot in Cincinnati. Having also prevailed against Musetti at last week’s National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Toronto, Medvedev now leads 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
“I think it’s tough for anyone to be comfortable [quickly] here," said Medvedev of the fast Cincinnati courts. "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.”
Playing the plan to perfection
Two wins in a week for @DaniilMedwed over Musetti with 6-3 6-2 on the scoreboard@CincyTennis | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/rgh9nNpZYj
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 16, 2023
Aside from dropping serve in his opening game of the week in Ohio, Medvedev was rock-solid on the way notching his Tour-leading 23rd ATP Masters 1000 win of the season. He outhit Musetti by 25 winners to 10 in a 78-minute victory on Grandstand.
Cincinnati holds fond memories for Medvedev, who lifted the first of his six Masters 1000 crowns at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in 2019. His third-round opponent as he chases his sixth tour-level title of 2023 will be German 16th seed and former champion Alexander Zverev, who fired 10 aces in a 7-5, 6-4 win over Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka
“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.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]