Medvedev, eyeing No. 1 ranking, tops Murray at Miami Open

Miami Gardens, March 27 (AP/IANS): Daniil Medvedev never gave Andy Murray a chance.

The top-seeded Medvedev opened his bid to reclaim the No. 1 ranking Saturday by topping Murray 6-4, 6-2 in the second round of the Miami Open. Medvedev never faced a break point in any of his nine service games.

He can regain the No. 1 spot by making the Miami semifinals.

“Definitely, I have a lot of motivation to try and get it back,” Medvedev said.

Only five men in the past 18 years have held the No. 1 ranking that is currently held by Novak Djokovic. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are also past No. 1’s — while Medvedev and Murray are the others. Murray was No. 1 from November 2016 through August 2017, and that distinction was handed off between Djokovic, Federer and Nadal since before Medvedev got there for the first time on Feb. 28.

Medvedev’s stay was brief; his three-week reign ended officially on Monday when Djokovic returned to the top of the rankings. But with three more wins in Miami, Medvedev would be back on top.

“I still felt like in the rallies and stuff I could hang with him, and I didn’t feel like from the back of the court I was getting like really outplayed,” said Murray, who got into Miami on a wild card and is continuing his comeback after undergoing hip resurfacing surgery. “I’m sure some people will think otherwise.”

Murray is a two-time Miami Open winner, those victories coming at the tournament’s former home in nearby Key Biscayne. His loss meant only one past Miami men’s winner remains in the field — that being defending champion Hubert Hurkacz, the No. 8 seed who defeated Arthur Rinderknech 7-6 (5), 6-2 and moved into the third round.

Collins moves on

Australian Open finalists Danielle Collins broke Vera Zvonareva four times Saturday to reach the fourth round of the Miami Open WTA event.

The highest-ranked American woman at No.11, and the No. 9 seed here at the Miami Open, Collins defeated qualifier Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-4 in 78 minutes. Collins had four aces and broke Zvonareva’s serve three times on the Stadium court.

Collins has been nursing various injuries this year, including back and abdominal ailments. Lately, she said, the after-effects of a viral illness have left her with significant neck pain.

No.9 seed Collins will next play 8th-seeded Ons Jabeur in a clash between two of the three seeds left in the top half of the draw. Alison Riske also advanced on Saturday.

Collins, who made the Miami semi-finals as a qualifier in 2018, was aggressive and exhibited superior groundstrokes, which kept Zvonareva under pressure. She won the first set before they needed a fresh set of balls.

“There was obviously an emotional moment for me, the pain that I’m dealing with right now with this injury,” she said in her on-court interview.

“Just trying to work through that, I think is one of the hardest things we go through mentally when we’re on the court. Because when we have that physical pain it distracts you from what you need to do, it holds you back in the big moments,” she was quoted as saying by the WTA in a report.