Andy Murray is relishing the opportunity to face Daniil Medvedev at the Miami Open. The Briton set up the clash with a 7-6, 6-1 win over Frederico Delbonis in round one.
The 34-year-old is keen to have a good tournament after a disappointing second-round exit at Indian Wells. He faces a mammoth task in the form of the US Open champion, but the three-time major winner is excited to test himself against one of the world’s best.
"Yeah, I mean, I hope so," Murray said when asked if he had a chance of shocking the world No 2. "You know, obviously, you know, a tough match. He has played extremely well on the hard courts in the last few seasons. You know, he deserves to be right up there at the top of the game. So, yeah, a big challenge for me, a great test.
"You know, I've got a big training block after this tournament, and you know, it will be a really good test for where my game is at and the things I need to work on as well against him. So, looking forward to that." Murray, who has expressed his displeasure with his performances recently, gave a positive assessment of his first-round result against Delbonis.
"Well, I think both of us served very well in the first set," Murray said. "I managed to catch a really good return at five-four in the tie-break, a really deep return and managed to get that point. He then double faulted on the set point, and yeah, that was the key to the match right there. You know, I'd like to think if I had lost the first set, you know, I still would have been right in the match.
"But for me, I sat down after that, got the break straight away and the beginning of the second and went on from there." Murray lost to Medvedev in the pair’s only previous meeting in Brisbane in 2019, by a scoreline of 7-5, 6-2, and the Russian will be keen to add to that victory in Miami.
Should Medvedev make a run to the semi-finals at the Hard Rock Stadium, he will regain the world No 1 ranking from Novak Djokovic. Meanwhile, Murray's compatriot Emma Raducanu lost her opening match at the Miami Open, succumbing to Kateřina Siniaková 6-3, 4-6, 5-7. The teen served for the match and was two points away from victory, but unable to close it out.
