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.”
Playing the plan to perfection 🙌
Two wins in a week for @DaniilMedwed over Musetti with 6-3 6-2 on the scoreboard@CincyTennis | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/rgh9nNpZYj
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 16, 2023
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.
“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.”
Medvedev’s third-round opponent as he chases his sixth tour-level title of 2023 will be 16th seed Alexander Zverev. The German downed Yoshihito Nishioka 7-5, 6-4 in his first meeting with the Japanese World No. 45 since 2015, converting three of 12 break points he earned for a one-hour, 57-minute win.
Thursday’s third-round clash will be the 16th Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting between Medvedev and Zverev. The former has triumphed in all three of their tour-level meetings in 2023, winning in three sets in Indian Wells and Monte-Carlo and in straight sets in Rome.
Both players seek a deep run in Cincinnati to boost their hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals, although Medvedev is the better-placed of the two in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. The 27-year-old is third and in a strong position to secure his fifth straight appearance at the season finale, while two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion Zverev lies 10th.
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