Today it’s time to talk about a man who is surpassing himself this 2023, improving his results harvested last season. He is Daniil Medvedev, owner of nicknames like the Russian robot or the Medvedev octopus. And these nicknames, to call them somehow, he has earned them hard, due to the complicated mission of escaping from his intelligent tennis. Although the last year was not easy for the Russian, since he did not show the best version of him, quite the contrary, he gave the feeling that after that defeat against Rafa Nadal in the final of the australian openit went into a tailspin.
Yet there it is, back to square one. Although the first Grand Slam of the season did not go well for him either (he fell to Repeat in the third round by 6(7)-7 3-6 6(4)-7), also meant his starting box. title in Rotterdamtitle in Dohatitle in Dubai and end in Indian Wells. Here comes the truly important thing for the new year. And it is that, in 2022, after his disappointing defeat in Australia, he had to run into his executioner again in the Acapulco semifinals and, in this case, Nadal swept the Russian with a score of 6-3 6-3. The ghosts of the past? Be that as it may, Medvedev ran into the same stone again and, perhaps, that affected his confidence.
Beating his results in the Sunshine Double
After that, Indian Wells fared poorly, being defeated by Gael Monfils in the third round. In Miami ran into the barrier of the quarterfinals against Hubert Hurkacz, future winner of the tournament. But as we said before, this year the Russian is flying around the circuit and has become the rival to beat, despite being positioned as number 5 of the ATP ranking. At the moment he has already improved his result in the Californian tournament, reaching the final. But he had the bad luck of running into number 1, with a Carlos Alcaraz just as plugged in or more than him and who ended up deactivating the robot with a sharp 6-3 6-2. In any case, there is his progression in a tournament whose best results were obtained in 2021 when he reached the round of 16 (he was defeated by Grigor Dimitrov by 6-4 4-6 3-6).
The factors that make him a favorite for the title
Now, at the moment Daniil finds himself in an idyllic setting to continue rising and continue to progress in the Sunshine Double. And it is that the Russian has never been good at Miami, but this year he has many factors in his favor to be crowned in a tournament that is still missing in his record. First of all, as we mentioned, Medvedev arrives full of confidence thanks to his winning streak of 19 consecutive matches, before the Indian Wells final. On the other hand, the track conditions fit his game better than those of the Californian tournament: they are faster. As he himself confessed, he likes these types of conditions better, which would mean adapting better and increasing his security in his tennis.
And, finally, the good picture that the draw in Miami gave him. His road to the title is being a smooth ride after beating opponents like Roberto Carballés, Alex Molcanwith whom he did not even play due to his withdrawal, and Quentin Halys. All of them do not even occupy a place in the top 50. Also, in the quarterfinals he will face Cristopher Eubanks, number 119 and from the qualy. The problems would not reach the semifinals against Francisco Cerundolo o Karen Khachanovalthough none within the top 10.
In this way, Daniil Medvedev finds himself before a unique opportunity to become champion in Miami, a tournament with which he could begin to connect regularly. Although he knows that, if he reached the final, his rival could be alcaraz. And that a Spaniard beats him in two consecutive tournaments… we already know how the story continues.
