Daniil Medvedev had to scratch and claw in his opening match of the season, saving nine set points in his first set of 2023. The former World No. 1 faced no such difficulties on Wednesday.

Medvedev cruised past Miomir Kecmanovic 6-0, 6-3 to advance to the Adelaide International 1 quarter-finals. He will next play Karen Khachanov for a place in the last four.

“It’s always better to win 6-0 than to win 7-6 saving nine set points and playing one hour, 20 [minutes],” Medvedev said. “But tennis is not as easy, otherwise everyone would be No. 1, but we have only one. So happy with my level today against a strong opponent. Second set was tougher, but managed to close it out at the end and looking forward to my next matches.”

The third seed saved the only break point he faced to triumph after 67 minutes. Medvedev now leads the pair’s ATP Head2Head series 3-0, winning all seven sets they have played.

Kecmanovic maintained contact in the second set, holding his first three service games. But Medvedev landed the knockout blow at 4-3, delivering a laser-like backhand winner up the line to earn his fourth service break of the match.

If Medvedev and Novak Djokovic both advance to the semi-finals, they will meet in a blockbuster showdown in Adelaide. However, Medvedev will be fully focussed on facing his friend, Khachanov.

“I actually don’t remember exactly where was the last time we played,” Medvedev said. “We’ve both changed a lot. He’s a very strong opponent, he can beat anybody. He beat Jack today, who is a young guy on the rise, so looking forward to this tough match.”

Khachanov defeated 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals competitor Jack Draper 6-4, 6-2. The 26-year-old did not lose serve in the match.

“To be honest I was expecting a very tough match against Jack because we had a good battle in the US Open, which unfortunately finished not in the way I wanted, but he retired in the end of the third set,” Khachanov recalled. “He’s on a good run, he’s a good rising-up player, younger than me. To be honest with you from the beginning until the end, I played a very solid match, very good performance from my side.”

Lorenzo Musetti gave Italy a perfect start in the United Cup Brisbane City Final on Wednesday when he cruised past Poland’s Daniel Michalski.

The two-time ATP Tour titlist and Next Gen ATP Finals alumnus was in full control on Pat Rafter Arena, showing his class in a 6-1, 6-1 win against the World No. 260. The Italian lost just three service points in his 58-minute victory.

“Of course the serve worked really good,” Musetti said. “But I mean every shot [I] had a great feeling with the ball since the first hit on the court. I think I played for sure the best match of the year.”

Poland will look to quickly strike back when WTA World No. 1 Iga Swiatek takes the court against World No. 27 Martina Trevisan, a lefty who made last year’s Roland Garros semi-finals. That clash will be followed by the No. 1 men’s singles match between 2021 Nitto ATP Finals competitors Hubert Hurkacz and Matteo Berrettini, which kicks off the night session not before 5:30 p.m.

Musetti oozed with confidence from the first ball against Michalski, waving his racquet like a wand on the court. Michalski struggled to find his rhythm early, which allowed the World No. 23 to play from the lead, which he never relinquished.

“Today I was moving really, really fast with the feet and I think that’s a key part for my game,” Musetti said. “Today I was on fire from that side, so I could manage the match in a positive way.”

The Italian is now 3-0 at the inaugural United Cup. Musetti also earned straight-set victories against Brazilian Felipe Meligeni Alves and Norwegian Viktor Durasovic.

Brisbane City Final Order Of Play

Not Before 2:00 pm

Not Before 5:30 pm

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury picked up where they left off in 2022 as they opened the new season with a doubles win Tuesday at the Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune.

Fresh off their maiden Nitto ATP Finals title in November, the American-British pairing defeated Sebastian Baez and Luis David Martinez 6-3, 7-6(1) to advance to the quarter-finals at the ATP 250. The top seeds will meet Ramkumar Ramanathan and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela next after the Indian-Mexican pair edged Rohan Bopanna and Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 11-9.

French third seeds Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul also advanced via a Match Tie-break on Tuesday, scoring a 6-7(1), 7-5, 10-7 win against the Indian duo of Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni.

Italian Success In Adelaide
Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Sonego knocked off home favourites James Duckworth and Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-4 at the Adelaide International 1, with Sonego recovering to take the court after a second-set retirement in his matchup against Daniil Medvedev on Monday. Sinner earned two wins on Tuesday, beating Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-2 in singles play.

Also advancing in Adelaide were Maxime Cressy and Albano Olivetti, and Austrians Lucas Miedler and Alexander Erler.