Medvedev Completes Musetti Double With Cincinnati Win

  • Posted: Aug 16, 2023

Medvedev Completes Musetti Double With Cincinnati Win

Aug162023

Third seed to meet Zverev for 16th time in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series

Two clashes in the space of six days, two commanding victories for Daniil Medvedev against Lorenzo Musetti.

The third-seeded Medvedev produced a dominant 6-3, 6-2 triumph against the Italian on Wednesday at the Western & Southern Open to book his third-round spot in Cincinnati. Having also prevailed against Musetti at last week’s National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Toronto, Medvedev now leads 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“I think it’s tough for anyone to be comfortable [quickly] here,” said Medvedev of the fast Cincinnati courts. “Tough conditions here, they changed the court. But then it comes to being the better in the tough conditions, and that’s what I managed to do today.

“We both made some mistakes, we both made some double faults and stuff like this, but I managed to be a little bit better in important moments and actually I felt like I was playing better and better during the match. So that’s a positive thing for the next round.”

Aside from dropping serve in his opening game of the week in Ohio, Medvedev was rock-solid on the way notching his Tour-leading 23rd ATP Masters 1000 win of the season. He outhit Musetti by 25 winners to 10 in a 78-minute victory on Grandstand.

Cincinnati holds fond memories for Medvedev, who lifted the first of his six Masters 1000 crowns at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in 2019. His third-round opponent as he chases his sixth tour-level title of 2023 will be German 16th seed and former champion Alexander Zverev, who fired 10 aces in a 7-5, 6-4 win over Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 

“It was my first Masters 1000 win, so always special memories [here],” said Medvedev. “Today was probably the coolest day I have ever seen in Cincinnati, so that was great and I hope all the week is going to be like this.”

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