Danil Medvedev overcame Alex De Minaur 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 to reach the quarter final at the China Open in Beijing.
Medvedev broke twice in the third and seventh games to open up a 5-2 lead.
De Minaur pulled both breaks back to draw level to 5-5 to force the first set to the tie-break. Both players traded mini-breaks in the first two points. Medvedev earned two more mini-breaks to close out the tie-break 7-3. Medvedev broke once in the fourth game to win the second set 6-3.
Medvedev converted three of the nine break points he faced to improve his record in his head-to-head clashes against De Minaur. The Australian player beat his Russian rival in the quarter final at the Toronto Masters 1000 tournament. A few weeks later Medvedev beat De Minaur in four sets in the fourth round at the US Open.
“It was tough like always. Alex has this ability. Everyone knows it that when he down, he starts to play better. That’s what happened today. In the first set I did not manage to count him down, as he was playing better because he was down. In the second set I managed to play better. It’s crazy how every time he is down in a match, you know he is going to start playing like he is number 1 in the world. It is tough to play against him. It was a tough victory, but I am happy with my level”, said Medvedev.
Medvedev set up a quarter final match against Ugo Humbert, who came back from one set down to beat Andrey Rublev 5-7 6-3 7-6 (7-3) after 2 hours and 48 minutes in a match that featured ten breaks of serve. The Frenchman has earned his first top 10 win in more than a year.
Rublev earned an early break in the first game of the opening set. Humbert broke straight back and held his service game to win his second consecutive game for 2-1. Rublev won three consecutive games including a break of serve to take a 4-2 lead. Humbert broke back to draw level to 5-5. Rublev earned another break to win two consecutive games and closed it out 7-5 on his first set point.
“I was really focused from the beginning of the second set and the level was very high. It’s not easy against him because he plays very fast. I am very proud that I did it”, said Humbert.
Humbert opened up a 3-0 lead at the start of the second set including a break in the second game The Frenchman saved a total of three break points in the third and fifth games and converted his first set point to close out the second set 6-2.
Humbert converted his fifth break point in the first game of the third set. Rublev broke straight back on his second opportunity to draw level to 1-1. Rublev earned his second break in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead. Humbert broke straight back to draw level and held his service game to draw level to 5-5 forcing the match to a tie-break. Humbert earned three mini-break to win the tie-break 7-3.
