World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev on Thursday powered into the semi-finals of the hard-court tournament in Los Cabos, Mexico, with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Ricardas Berankis.
Medvedev, playing his first tournament since bowing out of the quarter-finals in Mallorca, Spain, in June, had launched his return with his 250th career match win over Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata on Wednesday.
He said the victory over Lithuania’s Berankis felt “very different,” but the outcome was the same and never looked in doubt as Medevedev reeled off eight straight games to go from 2-2 in the opening set to 6-2, 4-0 and fully in control.
Photo: AFP
“My opponent played very different, much more aggressive,” Medvedev said, adding that it actually worked to his advantage.
“To be honest, against that type of player sometimes you don’t have much to do. Just try to serve well, bringing the balls back in the court,” he said. “That’s what I managed to do. He missed a little bit too much today and that was enough.”
Medvedev, who last year ended Novak Djokovic’s bid for a calendar Grand Slam with his triumph over the Serb in the US Open final, dropped just three points on first serve, despite putting less than half in play.
He saved two break points in the opening set, but was otherwise largely untroubled, clinching the win with his eighth ace on match point as he finished it out with a love game.
Medvedev next faces fourth seed Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia for a place in the final. Kecmanovic beat Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-4.
Medvedev is chasing his first title of the year. He fell to Rafael Nadal in an agonizing Australian Open final and missed Wimbledon because of its ban on Russian and Belarusian players.
If he reaches the final, Medvedev would be assured of taking the world No. 1 ranking into his defense of the US Open title at Flushing Meadows later this month.
In the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles, Taiwan’s Tseng Chun-hsin and Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina stunned second seeds and reigning Wimbledon champions Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
Tseng and Etcheverry face fourth seeds Raven Klaasen of South Africa and Marcelo Melo of Brazil in the semi-finals.
Additional reporting by staff writer
American rugby sevens star Ilona Maher is to join 15-a-side club Bristol next month in a bid to play in next year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup, the English club announced on Monday. Maher, 28, helped the US to a bronze medal at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris and is the seven-a-side sport’s most popular player on social media. “This is a huge coup to be able to bring Ilona Maher to Bristol Bears on a short-term deal,” Bristol head coach Dave Ward said. “She is one of the biggest names in women’s sport, let alone rugby, and we believe she will
New Taipei Kings guard Jeremy Lin on Friday was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Player of the Month, the first domestic player to win the award, while the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers are to welcome their third head coach in less than a year. Lin averaged 22 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists over five games in October and last month, helping the Kings to second in the standings with a 4-2 record as of Friday. The Kings last night defeated the Lioneers 96-78 to move level with the top-of-the-table Formosa Dreamers (5-2), while in the night game, the New Taipei
TSG (Taiwan Steel Group) Tainan won the Taiwan Football Premier League (TFPL) title for a fifth straight season on Sunday, while the Kaohsiung Attackers a week earlier emerged as champions for the first time in the women’s league. In the final round of the TFPL, TSG rested most of their important players for the home match at Yonghua Stadium in Tainan. They had 46 points prior to the game and were already guaranteed to finish in first place. Their opponent, Hang Yuan FC, were led by midfielder Chen Po-ying, who scored two goals, first with a curving shot just inside
LeBron James is in quite the shooting slump — especially from long distance, highlighted by his zero-for-four effort from three-point range for the Los Angeles Lakers in their 109-80 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. That return stretched the nearly-40-year-old’s skid to zero-for-19 from deep over his past four games. James’ birthday is on Dec. 30. After going four-for-16 from the floor overall with six of his team’s 20 turnovers for a season-low 10 points against the Timberwolves, James was asked to reflect on the Lakers reaching the quarter mark of their 2024-2025 schedule under rookie coach J.J. Redick at 12-9. “I
RSS