“Hell of a Player”: Daniil Medvedev on His Q/F Opponent Roberto Bautista Agut at Miami Open 2021

Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev has praised Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, his quarter-final opponent, at the ongoing Miami Open as a “hell of a player”.

However, he added that there is a chink in his rival’s armor which he would like to exploit in Thursday’s clash.

Daniil Medvedev to exploit Agut’s weaknesses

“Sometimes I think his ranking should be higher but there is a reason why it isn’t and I’ll try to use it tomorrow,” Medvedev told reporters on Wednesday.

The Russian may have come up short against Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final this year, but he is set to join the Serb and his ‘Big Four’ peers in an elite list.

The current World Number 2 will become only the fifth tennis star after Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray to reach the 10.000 points milestone.

Medvedev, who clinched back-to-back elite Tour titles at the Rolex Paris Masters and Nitto ATP Finals in London last year, will reach the coveted mark on April 5th.

However, it ought to be mentioned in this connection that the elite list was put together after a revision or change in the point system in 2009.

Daniil Medvedev followed up his runners-up finish at the Australian Open with first Tour title of 2021 in Marseille

Medvedev carried an unbeaten streak from last year into the Australian Open and extended it till the final.

However, in the face of a sustained onslaught from World Number 1 Djokovic, the Russian wilted and was eventually routed in a lopsided final.

However, his run to the final at Melbourne Park and the unbeaten streak leading up to the tournament helped him dislodge Nadal from the Number 2 spot in the rankings.

Till the Russian ran into the top-seed, who lifted an unprecedented ninth Australian Open title this year, he did raise visions of his lifting his maiden Grand Slam title.

He barely broke a sweat on the way to reaching the final, notching up impressive wins against the likes of fellow countryman Andrey Rublev in the quarters and Greek World Number 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semis.

The Russian followed up his runners-up finish at the Australian Open with an opening-round exit at Rotterdam.

However, Medvedev extracted more than a measure of redemption out of himself by clinching his first Tour title of the year at the event that followed, in Marseille.

After battling cramps and a tricky Round-of-32 opponent in Alexei Popyrin to reach the pre-quarters in Miami, Medvedev beat rising US star Frances Tiafoe to seal his passage to the last-eight on Wednesday.

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