INDIAN WELLS: Daniil Medvedev shook off a second-set fall to beat Alexander Zverev 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 on Tuesday, the “crazy” victory pushing him into the Indian Wells quarter-finals for the first time.
Medvedev notched his 17th straight ATP victory. But for awhile it seemed the red-hot form that saw him lift trophies in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai wouldn’t be enough in the combined WTA and ATP Masters 1000 event in the California desert.
The world number six, frustrated as ever by the slow courts at Indian Wells, rolled his right ankle in the sixth game of the second set, crying out in pain and lying on the court for several minutes before limping to his chair.
Zverev, who suffered three torn ankle ligaments at last year’s French Open, looked on in concern, but after the injury was examined and taped by medical staff Medvedev continued and turned the match around.
He saved all 10 break points he faced in the second set – eight of them before he fell.
He grabbed a 4-1 lead on the way to victory in the tiebreaker and went up an early break in the third.
He was untroubled on his serve until he squandered a match point as he was broken in the 10th game.
Zverev couldn’t build on that, however, clutching his head in disbelief as he double-faulted on break point in the next game.
Medvedev seized the opening, holding at love to clinch the win after three hours and 17 minutes.
“Even without talking about the ankle, the match itself was crazy,” Medvedev said. “When you have 10 break points you’re much closer to winning it and maybe you even deserve it, but that’s tennis sometimes.”
Norrie into quarter-finals
Ankle allowing, Medvedev is scheduled to face 28th-ranked Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Chilean qualifier Cristian Garin.
The Stadium Court drama launched a jam-packed day that featured all men’s and women’s round of 16 matches.
Men’s top seed Carlos Alcaraz, the US Open champion who is chasing a third Masters 1000 title that would see him return to number one in the world, took on 21-year-old Briton Jack Draper – who is coming off a third-round victory over childhood hero Andy Murray.
Women’s world number one Iga Swiatek, trying to become just the second woman after Martina Navratilova in 1990-91 to win back-to-back Indian Wells titles, faced 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu.
In other early matches, defending champion Taylor Fritz defeated Hungarian Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 6-3.
Medvedev, Sabalenka not counting on Wimbledon
Britain’s 2021 champion Cameron Norrie eased past seventh-ranked Russian Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4, lining up a meeting with American Frances Tiafoe, who beat Chilean qualifier Alejandro Tabilo 6-4, 6-4.
Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka reached the quarter-finals for the first time with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 victory over Barbora Krejcikova.
Sabalenka fired 11 aces to avenge a loss to the Czech at Dubai last month – the Belarusian’s only lone defeat of the year.
Sabalenka next faces 19-year-old American Coco Gauff, who squeezed past Swedish qualifier Rebecca Peterson 6-3, 1-6, 6-4. Gauff, the fourth seed, has won three of their prior four meetings.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, a former world number two now ranked 15th, saved four match points in a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (13/11) victory over third-ranked Jessica Pegula.
The Czech next faces last year’s runner-up Maria Sakkari, the seventh seed who beat Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.