Medvedev, who briefly held the top of the tour until his loss earlier this month in Indian Wells, needed to reach the semifinals in Miami to once again unseat Djokovic, absent from the tournament.
This Thursday, however, the Russian missed the opportunity by falling to Hurkacz in the quarterfinals 7-6 (7) and 6-3going through a real ordeal in the second set due to the extreme humidity in Miami.
Hurkacz, tenth in the ATP, will face in the semifinals the winner of Thursday’s cross between the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz, 18, and the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic.
The other semifinal will be played by Francisco Cerúndolo (103), the tournament’s great revelation, and the Norwegian Casper Ruud (8). This duel will be played on Friday from 13 in Argentina.
This year Medvedev was the first seed before the casualties of Djokovic, due to his refusal to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, and of the Spanish Rafael Nadal, who resigned to physically dose himself before injuring himself in Indian Wells.
In the tournament in the Californian desert, the first Masters 1000 of the year, the Muscovite fell in the third round against Frenchman Gael Monfils and let go of his status as world number one that he held for three weeks.
The Russian has not recovered the spectacular level of play shown at the end of 2021 at the US Open, where he raised his first Grand Slam trophy and frustrated Djokovic’s desire to complete a full victories in major tournaments in the same year.
In the first Grand Slam of 2022, the Australian Open, Medvedev experienced a huge disappointment when he lost to Nadal in a final in which he had a two-set lead.
In Miami, one step away from regaining first place in the ranking, Medvedev collided on Thursday with an intractable Hurkacz and weather conditions that led him to seek medical attention for dizziness during the second set.
The Russian kept trying until the end supported by the Miami crowd, who still enjoyed several spectacular exchanges, but Hurkacz put an end to the ordeal after two hours and three minutes of play.
Source: Ambito
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