In a three-and-a-half-hour marathon encounter against Thanasi Kokkinakis, Hubert Hurkacz saved five match chances, while fourth-seed Daniil Medvedev opened his Miami Open campaign with a straightforward victory on Saturday.
Aussie fortunate loser Kokkinakis gave Hurkacz a tough fight till the end, but Hurkacz prevailed 6-7 (10/12), 7-6 (9/7), and 7-6 (8/6) in the end.
Although Hurkacz, the 2021 Miami winner, saved three match chances in the second set tie-break and another two in the final set breaker, the Australian had shown his tenacity by saving six set points when he won the first set tie-break.
“I find it difficult to describe. I was just trying to remain in the game, compete, make some solid shots, “Hurkacz, who is ranked ninth at Hard Rock Stadium, said.
In the fourth set tie-break, Kokkinakis was serving at 6-4 up when Hurkacz hit an incredible winner along the line. That shot eventually swung the match dramatically in the Pole’s favor, and he won the next three games to win.
The best-of-three ATP match of the year to far lasted three hours, 31 minutes.
In contrast, the Indian Wells runner-up Medvedev defeated Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain in in 62 minutes, defeating him 6-1, 6-2.
The Russian’s 19-match winning run came to an end when he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells championship match, but he was still completely dominating, hitting 18 winners to Carballes Baena’s five.
Using the drop shot, which Alcaraz had successfully used against him the previous week, Medvedev jokingly claimed that he was attempting to imitate the current world number one.
“I believed that shot ought to be used more. While I’ve always like drop shots, I won’t be using them 50 times every game in my arsenal, “said he.
– Seeing forward
It’s important to have faith in your shot, and today it went very nicely “explained he.
“I’m satisfied with my performance in my first game and am eager for the next contests,” “Said he.
In either the ATP or WTA circuits, Medvedev became the first player to achieve 25 victories this year.
Christopher Eubanks and Mackenzie McDonald, both Americans, pulled off surprising victories to advance to the third round.
Eubanks defeated Croatia’s Borna Coric, who was ranked 17th, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, and McDonald defeated Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, 7-6 (10/8), 7-6 (7/5), to earn the greatest victory of his young career.
To the surprise of the home audience, the 26-year-old Eubanks, who is ranked 119th in the world, overcame a first set in which the Croat seemed to be in strong control.
“I really thought I wasn’t playing that poorly. I just wasn’t performing, “Eubanks said. “I believed that my strategy was sound. I intended to cause a commotion. I want to get the net. Simply put, my shots weren’t going in. I suppose I could manage that.
“Oh, I feel like I’m playing the proper way, I remarked. I’ll just keep trying, maybe the execution problems will go away and I can discover my range. I succeeded in doing it.”
McDonald defeated 23rd-ranked Berrettini in a nail-biting match, taking both tie-breaks and surviving two set points in the second set’s 12th game.
Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic maintained his outstanding play by defeating Lorenzo Musetti, the 18th seed.
The 21-year-old, who in Australia made it to his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal, won 6-4, 6-4 to go to the third round of a Masters 1000 competition.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, a two-time Grand Slam runner-up, moved through to the third round when France’s Richard Gasquet withdrew due to an ankle injury.
The second-seeded Greek player, Stefanos Tsitsipas, will next take on Cristian Garin of Chile, who defeated Sebastian Baez of Argentina 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.
Tsitsipas finished in second place in both the Australian Open of this year and the French Open of 2021, but he dropped his opening-round match at Indian Wells earlier this month.