Daniil Medvedev reached the Adelaide International 1 quarter-finals with a 6-0 6-3 win over Miomir Kecmanovic on Wednesday, moving a step closer to a potential semi-final showdown with Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open warm-up event.
Former U.S. Open champion Medvedev was pushed hard in the previous round by Lorenzo Sonego, saving nine set points before winning the first set, but had an easier time of it against Serbian Kecmanovic, the world number 29.
“I think it was a great match. Miomir is a tough opponent, a high-ranked player, so there are no easy guys left in Adelaide,” Medvedev said.
“I’m not sure there were (any easy opponents) from the first round, so I’m happy to be through, happy with my level.”
Up next for world number seven Medvedev is a meeting with compatriot and eighth seed Karen Khachanov, who beat Briton Jack Draper 6-4 6-2.
“I was expecting a tough battle against Jack because we had a good battle at the U.S. Open which unfortunately finished not in a way I wanted,” said Khachanov, who prevailed when Draper retired with a hamstring injury at Flushing Meadows last year.
“He’s on a good run, he is a young, rising player. From the beginning to the end I played a solid match ... with all the components of my game, I was pretty satisfied today.”
Also advancing to the quarter-finals of the ATP 250 tournament was Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, who followed up his stunning win over Paris Masters champion Holger Rune with a 6-4 6-3 victory over American Mackenzie McDonald.
The Australian Open runs from 16-29 January at Melbourne Park.
Great Britain’s Jack Draper bowed out in the last 16 with a straight-sets defeat to Karen Khachanov.
Last year’s US Open saw Draper leading Khachanov by a break in the third set of their third-round clash, before having to retire from the match due to injury.
However, on this occasion the 21-year-old Next Gen ATP Finals competitor was unable to register a break against the Russian, who won 6-4 6-2 and will now face compatriot Daniil Medvedev.
Khachanov said on atptour.com: “To be honest I was expecting a very tough match against Jack because we had a good battle in the US Open, which unfortunately finished not in the way I wanted, but he retired in the end of the third set.
“He’s on a good run, he’s a good rising-up player, younger than me. To be honest with you from the beginning until the end, I played a very solid match, very good performance from my side.”
Reuters; additional reporting by PA
