The absence of headliners Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal – “the cyborgs of tennis” in the words of world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev -- means the Miami Open title is up for grabs among a group of younger, less-heralded players.
Medvedev, the top seed, is the favorite heading into Round of 16 after hobbling his way through the third set of a 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (9-7), 6-4 win over Alexei Popyrin of Australia on Sunday.
Medvedev blew a 7-6, 5-2 lead, failed to convert three match points at 5-4, and began cramping badly toward the end of the final set. Clearly in pain, he grimaced and shuffled along the baseline, but managed to pull out the win on a hot, sunny day at Hard Rock Stadium.
“It was really painful,” Medvedev said. “A few moments during rallies, I felt like my legs were not following me anymore. 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. I was in big pain. My serve, which was terrible during the match, saved me in the end.”
Despite the cramps, the 6-6 Russian said he felt better a few hours later and remains the man to beat. He was an Australian Open finalist last month and is the first player outside the Big Four – Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Andy Murray – to reach No. 2 in 15 years.
Medvedev’s countryman, Andrey Rublev, has won a tour-leading 17 matches this year and is also among the favorites to win the Miami Open.
“Russian tennis is definitely on the rise right now, and I like it,” Medvedev said. “We want people to talk more about tennis in Russia. That’s what’s happening right now. We want TV (channels) to show more tennis in Russia. That’s one of the goals.”
American John Isner, the 2018 Miami Open champion, had an easier time with the heat. He hit 16 aces to get past Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5).
“I like playing in hot conditions,” Isner said. “It’s tough, for sure, when you’re out there sweating a lot and you’re losing a lot of fluids out there. You have to do the right things before the match to prevent your body from cramping up out there.”
On the women’s side, No. 2 Naomi Osaka advanced to the second week of the Miami tournament for the first time in her career without playing a match. She won by walkover when qualifier Nina Stojanovic withdrew just before the scheduled start because of a right thigh injury. Osaka, who has won 22 consecutive matches since February 2020, will play Monday against Elise Mertens of Belgium.
Fourth-seeded Sofia Kenin of Pembroke Pines was eliminated in the third round by 27th-seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, the highest-ranked Arab woman in history and first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal (2020 Australian Open).
Jabeur took the first set, Kenin recovered, forced a third set, but Jabeur broke Kenin in the ninth game of the final set and won 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
In other matches, No. 29 Jessica Pegula defeated No. 6 Karolina Pliskova, Garbine Muguruza beat wild card Anna Kalinskaya, and Roberto Bautista Agut beat Jan-Lennard Struff.
