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Medvedev cruises into third round
Medvedev cruises into third round
October 10, 2021 | 11:18 PM
US Open champion Daniil Medvedev made a smooth return to ATP action Saturday, downing American Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-2 to reach the third round at Indian Wells.The second-ranked Russian – the top men’s seed in the combined WTA and ATP Masters hard court tournament – played his first ATP match since capturing his maiden Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows – where he denied Novak Djokovic a rare calendar Grand Slam sweep.Since then, Medvedev helped Team Europe beat Team World at the Laver Cup, and kept things rolling with a convincing win over 57th-ranked McDonald.Medvedev didn’t face a break point, and converted three of his seven break chances against the American to wrap things up in 72 minutes. “I’m actually really pleased, because usually I haven’t played well in Indian Wells and I haven’t been playing that well in practices before (the tournament),” said Medvedev, who was 3-3 in prior appearances in the California desert.“Mackenzie is a really strong opponent, he can put pressure on everybody,” he added. “I’m happy to be through quite fast.” Medvedev booked a third-round meeting with Serbian Filip Krajinovic, who pulled off a 7-6 (7/2), 7-5 winner over American Marcos Giron. Russian fourth seed Andrey Rublev also advanced, beating Spain’s Carlos Taberner 6-3, 6-4.Women’s top seed Karolina Pliskova eased into the third round as fifth-seeded Garbine Muguruza was toppled by Ajla Tomljanovic. Pliskova, ranked third in the world, needed 80 minutes to get past 23-year-old Polish qualifier Magdalena Frech 7-5, 6-2. Pliskova fired six aces to take her WTA-leading tally to 387 for the season, converting five of six break chances against Frech.It was the 106th-ranked Frech who grabbed the first break of the match, taking a 4-3 lead in the opening set. But Pliskova promptly broke back, and leading 6-5, the Czech gave herself a set point with a backhand winner before Frech fired into the net.Pliskova powered to a 5-1 lead in the second set and, after dropping her serve while serving for the match, broke Frech for the fifth time to claim the win.Spain’s Muguruza, meanwhile, was bundled out 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 by Australia’s Tomljanovic, who reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon earlier this year. Muguruza appeared to have turned things around when she pocketed the second set to level the match – aided by a rise in errors from the Aussie.But Tomljanovic regrouped, breaking Muguruza in the opening game of the third.Muguruza pulled the break back to knot the set at 3-3, only to drop her serve again, and Tomljanovic finished it off with a final service break. Bianca Andreescu launched her defence of the title she won in 2019 – the most recent edition of the tournament – with a hard-fought 7-6 (7/2), 5-7, 6-2 victory over American Alison Riske.In other women’s matches, French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, the third seed, beat Kazakh qualifier Zarina Diyas 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
October 10, 2021 | 11:18 PM