Daniil Medvedev has never beaten Roberto Bautista Agut, but the top seed is not paying any attention to that record ahead of their quarter-final clash in Miami.
“I don’t really care about ATP Head2Head, because it is always a new match,” said Medvedev. “We saw some with Roger when he is like 15-0 against someone and the guy finally gets a win in maybe an important match.”
Medvedev may have lost to the Spaniard in the 2017 Tata Open Maharashtra final and last year’s Western & Southern Open quarter-finals, but he is confident that he can solve the Bautista Agut riddle in the pair’s third ATP Head2Head meeting.
“I am just looking forward to tomorrow. Roberto is a hell of a player. I feel like sometimes, when I have practised with him and played against him, that his Ranking should be higher. There are reasons why it is not and I am going to try to do something with it tomorrow.”
Breaking new ground is rarely straightforward, but it is something that Medvedev has already made a habit of in 2021. The Russian started the year by leading Russia to its first ATP Cup title and he quickly followed that achievement with a maiden Australian Open final appearance.
Earlier this month, after winning the Open 13 Provence trophy for the first time, he became the first player outside the Big Four to crack the top two in the FedEx ATP Rankings since Lleyton Hewitt in July 2005.
Bautista Agut will begin his third clash against Medvedev high on confidence. The nine-time ATP Tour titlist saved a match point on Tuesday to defeat 2018 champion John Isner in a final-set tie-break.
The seventh seed will also be attempting to add to his impressive list of semi-final appearances this season. Bautista Agut guided Spain to the ATP Cup semi-finals last month (l. to Italy) and finished as a runner up in Montpellier (l. to Goffin) and Doha (l. to Basilashvili) earlier this month.
Earlier in the day, Jannik Sinner and Alexander Bublik will both attempt to reach their first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final. Sinner will be aiming to earn his second win of the month against Bublik, following his three-set victory against the Kazakhstani in their maiden ATP Head2Head clash in Dubai.
Sinner has dropped just one set en route to the quarter-finals, with wins against #NextGenATP Frenchman Hugo Gaston, 14th seed Karen Khachanov and Emil Ruusuvuori. The 19-year-old is bidding to join Fabio Fognini (2017) as only the second Italian semi-finalist in tournament history.
“You have to go on court and try to win matches. I’m just trying to do that,” Sinner said. “Sometimes it works, sometimes not. For me, it’s just important giving 100 per cent day after day and then I have to see what’s going to happen.”
Bublik has already made history in Miami. The 32nd seed is the first Kazakhstani to reach a Masters 1000 quarter-final. Bublik has started the year strong, with runner-up finishes at the Antalya Open (l. to De Minaur) and the Singapore Open (l. to Popyrin).
The World No. 44, who entered the tournament in 11th position in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, is aware of the challenge he will face from the opposite end of the court. Sinner is the second-youngest player in the Top 100 and the Italian already owns two ATP Tour crowns.
“[Sinner] is so young,” said Bublik. “He is an unbelievable athlete and he runs forever… He is an unbelievable player and sharing a quarter-final with him is a pleasure for me. I hope to have a great match.”
Alexander Bublik: Winning The Mental Game
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SCHEDULE – WEDNESDAY, 31 MARCH 2021
GRANDSTAND start 1:00 pm
WTA MATCH – M. Sakkari (GRE) vs N. Osaka (JPN)
Not Before 3:00 pm
[21] J. Sinner (ITA) vs [32] A. Bublik (KAZ)
Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA MATCH – B. Andreescu (CAN) vs S. Sorribes Tormo (ESP)
Not Before 8:30 pm
[1] D. Medvedev (RUS) vs [7] R. Bautista Agut (ESP)
COURT 1 start 1:00 pm
M. Kecmanovic (SRB) / A. Qureshi (PAK) vs [2] N. Mektic (CRO) / M. Pavic (CRO)
[7] R. Ram (USA) / J. Salisbury (GBR) vs [WC] S. Korda (USA) / M. Mmoh (USA)
Not Before 5:00 pm
M. Arevalo (ESA) / H. Tecau (ROU) vs D. Evans (GBR) / N. Skupski (GBR)