Daniil Medvedev had no trouble beating the world No.58 Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 36 minutes firing 24 winners and 11 aces in the win.
The top seed dropped serve only once in the match which was during the second set as he broke his American rival three times in total. This week Medvedev is seeking to win his fourth Masters 1000 title and first in Miami.
“It was definitely a tough match,” Medvedev told atptour.com. “[There were] a lot of great points, some of them he won, some of them I won… The serve helped me a lot today, especially in the second set.”
The first set was pretty routine with both players doing a good job holding serve and there wasn’t a breakpoint until 5-4 with the American serving to stay in the set. That’s when Medvedev was able to earn a set point and would finally make the breakthrough to win the first set.
The second set was way more competitive and more entertaining. At 1-1 it was the world number 58 who would strike first earning his first breakpoint of the match and getting the break after the world number two would serve a double fault.
The lead didn’t last long for the American as the Russian struck right back earning two more breakpoints and putting the set back on serve at 2-2. After holding serve at the next changeover Tiafoe called for the physio and the doctor came out to listen to his heart.
During the medical timeout the American was given medication and decided to continue to play and it seemed to do the trick as he earned two more chances to break but was denied by the Russian.
At 4-3 with the world number two sensing the finish line he went for the kill and earned another breakpoint and broke the American once more with a stunning return passing shot winner. Medvedev would serve for the match and set up a quarter-final match with the Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.
“I don’t really care about ATP Head2Head, because it is always a new match. We saw some with Roger when he is like 15-0 against someone and the guy finally gets a win in maybe an important match,” The Russian commented on his next match.
“Roberto is a hell of a player. I feel like sometimes, when I have practised with him and played against him, that his Ranking should be higher. There are reasons why it is not and I am going to try to do something with it tomorrow.”
It is the first time in Medvedev’s career he has reached the last eight in Miami.
