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Tennis: Djokovic stays No.1 as Medvedev falls to Hurkacz at Miami


Daniil Medvedev (AFP)

MIAMI – Daniil Medvedev says physical struggles have destroyed any chances of winning back to world number one on Friday after falling to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (9/7), 6-3 at Miami Open.

Medvedev dropped to second with a third-round loss to Gael Monfils at Indian Wells last week, but will regain the top spot from Novak Djokovic of Serbia he defeated Hurkacz, the defending Miami Open champion.

Instead, 10th-placed Hurkacz advanced to the semifinals by knocking out the defending US Open champion at Hard Rock Stadium and 20-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic remaining at number one.

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic (AFP)

Hurkacz, now 2-2 all-time against the Russians, faces Carlos Alcaraz for a spot in Sunday’s final after the 18-year-old Spaniard produced a stellar performance to beat Miomir Kecmanovic, who ranked 48th Serb in three sets in one of the best matches of the tournament.

Prime Minister Medvedev said he sometimes felt so short of breath and cramped that in the dressing room he was “like a fish on the sofa”.

“The whole game, I didn’t feel my best,” Medvedev said. “After the hard points, I managed to get my breath back. I didn’t recover fast enough. You just have to fight but in the second set I felt weird.

“I don’t often feel that way but sometimes it happens when it’s hot. Maybe it’s the heat but I feel dizzy and tired and have a game I can’t serve anymore. In the dressing room, I was in pain.”

Medvedev called on the medical coach in the second set.

“The physical doctor gave me something,” he said. “You never know. You’re hoping it’ll look like a miracle but it doesn’t always work like this.”

‘cramp, cramp, cramp’

Hurkacz played well, taking full advantage of Medvedev’s challengers, lasting well after he stepped off the field.

“Normally I just sit for a bit in the dressing room but then I started getting cramps,” he said. “I took a shower and I feel a little better. That’s good advice because I was sitting down, really tired, and every muscle started to cramp, cramp, cramp. I’m like a fish on the sofa.

“It’s nothing serious. I’ll wake up and probably be fine, but it won’t be good if I’m out of the tournament.”

Medvedev struggled with his serves throughout – his first serve was only 43% as he managed to stay in the first set 2-5, but still there’s hope when he comes back and scores a 5-5 draw. .

But he was unable to stop the tide when Hurkacz, whose vital serve, was provided for the last four.

“I know Hubert can play great tennis and it’s more important to win the game than to be number one,” said Medvedev. “That would be a bonus.”

Hurkacz said his return to serve is crucial.

“I was able to make a lot of profit and get some free points on my serve, because having rallies with Daniil was fun, but they were going to take a long time,” Hurkacz said. “It’s good that I can get some free points.”

If he wins on Friday, Hurkacz will become the first player to reach the Miami Open men’s singles and doubles finals in the same year. He teamed up with John Isner after the game against Medvedev and delivered another solid performance to help beat Australian Open champions Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis in the final four men’s doubles.

Alcaraz, meanwhile, is sure to test its Polish opponent after beating Kecmanovic 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) to send in its biggest audience This year’s tournament on the main court at Hard Rock Stadium wild with fun.

“It was a tough game,” said 16th-ranked Alcaraz, who reached the quarterfinals of the US Open last September and lost in the semifinals of Indian Wells to Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

“I have a lot of respect for him but this is the best atmosphere I’ve ever played in.”

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