The No. 2 seed overcame a characteristically tenacious Alex de Minaur to secure a spot in the quarterfinals of the China Open, while Rublev fell to Ugo Humbert.
BEIJING (AP)—Third-ranked Daniil Medvedev showed composure to overcome a characteristically tenacious Alex de Minaur on Saturday, and secure a spot in the quarterfinals of the China Open.
Medvedev, seeded second in Beijing, emerged with a 7-6 (3), 6-3 win, but not before his 12th-ranked Australian opponent had staged a comeback from trailing 5-2 in the first set to force a tiebreaker.
“It’s crazy how every time he is down in a match, you know he is going to start playing like he is No. 1 in the world,” Medvedev said. “Tough to play against him, a tough victory, but I am happy with my level.”
“Confidence is key. When I am in good shape and good form, I have this ability to win these kinds of matches in straight sets. If I’m missing just 2% of what I’m doing right now, that’s when it’s tougher.”
The Russian will next face Ugo Humbert on Monday, after the Frenchman upset fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
Humbert thwarted Rublev’s attempt to serve out the match at 5-3 in the final set and then completed the comeback victory with a dominant tiebreaker.
Nicolas Jarry, who eliminated fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas in the previous round, beat qualifier Matteo Arnaldi 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Eighth-seeded Alexander Zverev plays Alejandro Davidovich Fokina later Saturday.
Alcaraz cruises into China Open quarterfinals; Sabalenka rolls in first match as world No. 1
The second-ranked Spaniard rolled over Lorenzo Musetti, while top-ranked Sabalenka lost just three games to Sofia Kenin.
BEIJING (AP) — Second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz cruised into the quarterfinals of the China Open with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Lorenzo Musetti in the second round on Sunday.
The top-seeded Spaniard hit 18 winners and broke the Italian’s serve four times in the 81-minute rout as he became the first player to win 60 tour matches this season.
60 WINS ON THE YEAR 😤@carlosalcaraz dispatches Musetti 6-2 6-2 to reach the Beijing quarters!#ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/Wtv11JGRn4
Next up for Alcaraz is seventh-seeded Casper Ruud, who was taken the distance by Tomas Martin Etcheverry 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(7) in a three-hour thriller.
Later Sunday, third-seeded Holger Rune plays Grigor Dimitrov and sixth-seeded Jannik Sinner faces Yoshihito Nishioka.
First match as No.1, first win as No.1 ☝️
Top seed @SabalenkaA powers through to the second round at the #ChinaOpen! pic.twitter.com/8rujhms3AQ
In her debut match as the world’s top-ranked player, Aryna Sabalenka delivered a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win against Sofia Kenin in the first round of the woman’s draw in Beijing.
The Belarusian fired 22 winners to just nine unforced errors against the 31st-ranked Kenin and wrapped up a routine victory in 67 minutes in her first match since the U.S. Open.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect to play that good on my serve,” Sabalenka said. “On practice, it didn’t work that well. But I was super happy that I was able to bring that level on my serve today. I think it’s helped a lot.”
Sabalenka, looking for fifth tour title in China and first since the 2019 WTA Elite Trophy, will face Katie Boulter or Magdalena French in the second round.
Anhelina Kalinina upset Wimbeldon champion and eighth-seeded Marketa Vondrousova 1-6, 6-4, 6-1. The Ukrainian will next play Daria Saville, who beat Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 6-2.
Other first round winners included Liudmila Samsonova, Jennifer Brady and Yulia Putintseva.