Top –seeded Medvedev, wagi sa fourth round ng Miami Open
MIAMI, United States (AFP) – Tinalo ng top-seeded na si Daniil Medvedev ang Australian na si Alexei Popyrin sa score na 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (7/9), 6-4 sa kabila ng naranasang leg cramps sa fourth round ng Miami Open.
Nagawa pa rin ng world number two na si Medvedev, ang tanging service break sa third set para talunin ang 86th ranked na si Popyrin sa ATP Masters at WTA hardcourt tournament, sa kabila ng sobrang init ng panahon sa South Florida at leg cramps.
Ayon kay Medvedev . . . “It’s probably one of the sweetest victories in my career, because I was cramping like hell in the third set. It was really painful. A few moments during rallies, I felt like my legs were not following me any more. The only thing I was thinking about was not to fall down because if I fell down, I don’t think I’d be able to get up. There were moments where I just wanted to lie down and say, ‘OK, it’s over,’ but I couldn’t accept that.”
Ang susunod na makakaharap ng Russian na si Medvedev, na runner-up kay Novak Djokovic sa Australian Open nitong Pebrero, ay ang unseeded American na si Frances Tiafoe, na tumalo sa 16th-seeded na si Dusan Lajovic ng Serbia.
Samantala, wagi rin si John Isner, ang 2018 champion at 2019 runner-up, laban sa 11th seeded Canadian na si Felix Auger-Aliassime sa score na 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5).
Ang match ay halos carbon copy ng two-tiebreak win ni Isner laban kay Auger-Aliassime sa 2019 semi-finals. Sunod na makakaharap ng 35-anyos na US veteran ang isa pang pamilyar na kalaban, si Roberto Bautista Agut.
Tinalo ng seventh-seeded Spaniard na si Agut si Jan-Lennard Struff ng Germany sa score na 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, para magkaroon ng tyansa na ipaghiganti ang kaniyang pagkatalo kay Isner sa 2019 quarter-final sa Miami.
© Agence France-Presse
