Medvedev Beats Former Number One Murray In Straight Sets
2nd January 2019
He had a comfortable first round win over James Duckworth but found the step up in class too much against the 22-year-old Russian who cruised to a 7-5, 6-2 win in just 80 minutes
- Russia's Daniil Medvedev showed Andy Murray just how much work he still has to do, when he beat the former world number one in straight sets in the Brisbane International on Wednesday
- Murray is making a comeback to the sport after a disastrous 2018, during which he played just six tournaments and was out of the game for 11 months with a hip injury
- Medvedev is a rising star of the sport, winning seven titles in 2018 on his way to a world ranking of 16
BRISBANE, Australia-
Russia's Daniil Medvedev showed Andy Murray just how much work he still has to
do, when he beat the former world number one in straight sets in the Brisbane
International on Wednesday.
Murray is making a comeback to the sport after a disastrous
2018, during which he played just six tournaments and was out of the game for
11 months with a hip injury.
He had a comfortable first round win over James Duckworth
but found the step up in class too much against Medvedev, the 22-year-old
Russian cruising to a 7-5, 6-2 win in just 80 minutes.
Medvedev is a rising star of the sport, winning seven titles
in 2018 on his way to a world ranking of 16.
He broke Murray early in the first set and although Murray
got back on level terms, Medvedev broke again late in the first set to gain the
advantage.
Murray was broken twice at the start of the second to fall
behind 0-4 and there was no way back for the 31-year-old Scot.
"In the second set I made a few too many mistakes, and
obviously there was a period in the match from 5-5 where I lost six games in a
row," Murray said.
"And I think when you obviously play better players, I
mean he's 15 in the world or so, they will expose any errors that you make in
your game or any shots that you're not hitting particularly well.
"And he did that tonight."
Medvedev will meet Canada's Milos Raonic in the
quarter-finals.
The huge-serving Raonic fired down 21 aces in his 6-3, 7-6
(7/2) win over Serbian qualifier Miomir Kecmanovic to go with the 18 he served
in the first round.
Earlier, Japanese star Kei Nishikori eased past American
Denis Kudla 7-5, 6-2.
Local favourite
Nishikori had too many answers for Kudla, breaking him
towards the end of the first set and twice in the second for a comfortable
victory.
"After 5-5 I think he dropped a little bit his level,
and I was also able to play better," Nishikori said.
"I start playing better, playing more aggressive and
started getting more rhythm, and my serve got better in the second. I think it
was a good first match."
Nishikori will now play sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov in the
quarter-finals, a rematch of the 2017 final won by the Bulgarian.
Dimitrov played some sublime tennis to down local favourite
John Millman 6-3, 6-4.
Nishikori was joined in the quarter-finals by fellow
countryman Yasutaka Uchiyama, who stunned British number one Kyle Edmund 7-6
(8/6), 6-4.
Uchiyama, 26, is playing just his fifth tournament on the
ATP World Tour and next takes on Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in the quarter-finals.
Chardy came back from losing the first set to beat
Australian Nick Kyrgios 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-3.
After an even first set, Chardy's game picked up while
Kyrgios's fell away.
Kyrgios will now fall out of the top 50 for the first time
since 2014, while Chardy still has a chance of reaching the top 32 and
guaranteeing himself a seeding at the Australian Open.
Top seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal was a late withdrawal with
a thigh strain.
He has been replaced in the draw by lucky loser Taro Daniel of Japan, who will play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Thursday.