Second seed Daniil Medvedev overcame a tricky first-round test as he opened his Wimbledon account with a 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(3) victory over Jan-Lennard Struff on Tuesday.
The Russian, No. 2 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, arrived at the All England Club after a confidence-boosting run to the Mallorca Championships trophy, his 11th tour-level title and his first on grass courts. He has a chance to rise to World No. 1 for the first time after Wimbledon if he wins his second grass-court title here – his first Grand Slam crown – or if he reaches the final and Novak Djokovic does not.
Medvedev continued his momentum even as the German, who knocked him out of the NOVENTI OPEN in Halle in the first round, took the third set. The second seed bounced back in the fourth set to claim his revenge and improve to 4-1 in his ATP Head2Head over Struff.
“When I saw the draw the week before in Mallorca, I was like, 'Okay that’s not going to be an easy match,'” Medvedev said in an on-court interview. “But that’s what tennis is about, rematches and revenges.”
Medvedev, who has reached the third round here in 2018 and 2019, will next face the winner of #NextGenATP Carlos Alcaraz and lucky loser Yasutaka Uchiyama as he seeks to equal his best Wimbledon result. Alcaraz and Uchiyama’s match was cancelled due to rain.
The second seed took an early lead against Struff in the first set. Medvedev broke the big-serving German in his first service game as his rock-solid defending and low-bouncing groundstrokes forced errors off Struff’s racquet. Medvedev saved the two break points he faced in the first set to maintain his lead.
Medvedev reeled off the first four games of the second set to lead 4-0, and closed out the set comfortably with his fourth break of the match. Medvedev won 100 per-cent (16/16) of his first serve points in the first set and 78 per cent (7/9) in the second set as he raced ahead to a two-sets-to-love lead.
But one sloppy service game in the third set had Medvedev on the ropes, as Struff took advantage of a few looks at second serves to earn a break to love and lead 4-3. Struff, who came to net 72 times in the match (winning 63 per cent of those points) as he employed the serve-and-volley, did well to close out the set and fight off three break points in the fourth set as he worked his way back into the match. Just two mini-breaks made the difference in the tie-break, and both went Medvedev’s way as he sealed the victory with a lob winner after two hours and 35 minutes.
Elsewhere in this section, 14th seed Hubert Hurkacz snapped a six-match losing streak to claim his first victory since April as he defeated #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-1.
View Tuesday's Schedule | Listen To Radio Wimbledon | List Of Broadcasters (PDF)
Hurkacz became Poland's first ATP Masters 1000 champion when he won the Miami Open presented by Itau (d. Sinner) in March. But he struggled to regain his top form as the Tour moved to clay and grass courts, and Tuesday's victory is the first time Hurkacz has won since the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (d. Fabbiano).
The 14th seed hit 10 aces and broke the 19-year-old Wimbledon debutant four times to advance in one and 53 minutes. Hurkacz won 88 per cent (15/17) of his first-serve points in the opening set, and gained the decisive break in the 10th game to claim the first set.
In a tightly contested second set, Musetti showcased a mixture of flair and aggression on his groundstrokes as he attempted to move Hurkacz around. But the World No. 18 held firm on serve, and clinched the tie-break with a big first serve to move further ahead. Hurkacz then hit six winners and broke three times in the third set to advance.
Hurkacz improved to 16-11 on the season, and will next face Emil Ruusuvuori or Marcos Giron at SW19.
The Russian, No. 2 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, arrived at the All England Club after a confidence-boosting run to the Mallorca Championships trophy, his 11th tour-level title and his first on grass courts. He has a chance to rise to World No. 1 for the first time after Wimbledon if he wins his second grass-court title here – his first Grand Slam crown – or if he reaches the final and Novak Djokovic does not.
Medvedev continued his momentum even as the German, who knocked him out of the NOVENTI OPEN in Halle in the first round, took the third set. The second seed bounced back in the fourth set to claim his revenge and improve to 4-1 in his ATP Head2Head over Struff.
“When I saw the draw the week before in Mallorca, I was like, 'Okay that’s not going to be an easy match,'” Medvedev said in an on-court interview. “But that’s what tennis is about, rematches and revenges.”
Medvedev, who has reached the third round here in 2018 and 2019, will next face the winner of #NextGenATP Carlos Alcaraz and lucky loser Yasutaka Uchiyama as he seeks to equal his best Wimbledon result. Alcaraz and Uchiyama’s match was cancelled due to rain.
The second seed took an early lead against Struff in the first set. Medvedev broke the big-serving German in his first service game as his rock-solid defending and low-bouncing groundstrokes forced errors off Struff’s racquet. Medvedev saved the two break points he faced in the first set to maintain his lead.
Medvedev reeled off the first four games of the second set to lead 4-0, and closed out the set comfortably with his fourth break of the match. Medvedev won 100 per-cent (16/16) of his first serve points in the first set and 78 per cent (7/9) in the second set as he raced ahead to a two-sets-to-love lead.
But one sloppy service game in the third set had Medvedev on the ropes, as Struff took advantage of a few looks at second serves to earn a break to love and lead 4-3. Struff, who came to net 72 times in the match (winning 63 per cent of those points) as he employed the serve-and-volley, did well to close out the set and fight off three break points in the fourth set as he worked his way back into the match. Just two mini-breaks made the difference in the tie-break, and both went Medvedev’s way as he sealed the victory with a lob winner after two hours and 35 minutes.
Elsewhere in this section, 14th seed Hubert Hurkacz snapped a six-match losing streak to claim his first victory since April as he defeated #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-1.
View Tuesday's Schedule | Listen To Radio Wimbledon | List Of Broadcasters (PDF)
Hurkacz became Poland's first ATP Masters 1000 champion when he won the Miami Open presented by Itau (d. Sinner) in March. But he struggled to regain his top form as the Tour moved to clay and grass courts, and Tuesday's victory is the first time Hurkacz has won since the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (d. Fabbiano).
The 14th seed hit 10 aces and broke the 19-year-old Wimbledon debutant four times to advance in one and 53 minutes. Hurkacz won 88 per cent (15/17) of his first-serve points in the opening set, and gained the decisive break in the 10th game to claim the first set.
In a tightly contested second set, Musetti showcased a mixture of flair and aggression on his groundstrokes as he attempted to move Hurkacz around. But the World No. 18 held firm on serve, and clinched the tie-break with a big first serve to move further ahead. Hurkacz then hit six winners and broke three times in the third set to advance.
Hurkacz improved to 16-11 on the season, and will next face Emil Ruusuvuori or Marcos Giron at SW19.