Preview: Medvedev Meets Eubanks, Khachanov & Cerundolo Clash In Miami QFs | ATP Tour | Tennis

Quarter-final motion on the Miami Open offered by Itau continues Thursday, when two scheduled matches together with the postponed Carlos Alcaraz-Taylor Fritz conflict are on the cardboard.

Daniil Medvedev is among the most in-form gamers on Tour, however the fourth seed must finish the dream run of dwelling favorite Christopher Eubanks in Florida if he needs to achieve his fifth consecutive ATP Tour semi-final. Meanwhile Karen Khachanov seems to again up his fourth-round victory in opposition to Stefanos Tsitsipas when he faces 2022 semi-finalist Francisco Cerundolo.

ATPTour.com breaks down Thursday’s quarter-final motion in southern Florida.

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[4] Daniil Medvedev vs. [Q] Christopher Eubanks (USA)

Faced with a post-midnight begin to his fourth-round match in opposition to Quentin Halys resulting from rain, Daniil Medvedev was scientific in claiming a straight-sets victory in opposition to the Frenchman within the early hours of Wednesday morning. The fourth seed will hope for extra of the identical on Thursday when he takes on Eubanks, the shock bundle of the 2023 Miami Open offered by Itau.

The American qualifier has loved an emotional run to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final, even shedding tears after breaking the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings for the primary time along with his third-round triumph in opposition to Gregoire Barrere. Since edging Lukas Klein in a deciding-set tie-break within the ultimate spherical of qualifying, Eubanks has dropped only one set in 4 main-draw matches.

Taking on the 18-time tour-level titlist Medvedev guarantees to be his hardest problem but, nonetheless. The red-hot World No. 5 has received 21 of his previous 22 matches, along with his relentless retrieving from the baseline the dominant function of his recreation as he lifted trophies in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai and reached the championship match in Indian Wells.

The transfer to the quicker circumstances of Miami seems to have boosted the four-time Masters 1000 champion’s means to hit by opponents. Medvedev has struck 45 winners and dropped simply 9 video games throughout his two matches in Florida up to now.

Locked in 🔒@DaniilMedwed overpowers Quentin Halys to safe the victory 6-4 6-2 🙌@MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/poWOHDeypx

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 29, 2023

The final result of his first ATP Head2Headvert assembly with Eubanks might rely upon the 6’7” American’s means to stress Medvedev with exact serving, though the fourth seed will hope his famend deep return place can assist nullify his opponent’s greatest weapon. Another key for Eubanks can be preserving calm within the greatest match of his profession thus far.

The 26-year-old’s fourth-round win in opposition to Adrian Mannarino marked the primary time he has received 4 consecutive tour-level matches. Yet Eubanks says he’s feeling increasingly assured each time he steps on court docket at Hard Rock Stadium.

“The [nerves] are less,” he stated after downing Mannarino. “I went out there today feeling, ‘Let’s just go out there and play tennis, let’s go out here and have fun’. This week has already been a dream come true… I’m more than happy to live with the results as long as I can go out and try to execute as well as I can, and really have no regrets about how I played.”

[14] Karen Khachanov vs. [25] Francisco Cerundolo (ARG)

Khachanov is changing into accustomed to competing within the latter levels of the most important occasions on Tour. Having reached back-to-back Grand Slam semi-finals on the 2022 US Open and January’s Australian Open, the 26-year-old marched previous second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas on Tuesday to safe his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final look since Montreal in 2019.

The four-time tour-level titlist has rediscovered his early-season kind rapidly contemplating he was compelled to take a while off resulting from bodily points within the wake of his Melbourne run. Khachanov will hope to keep up that momentum on Thursday in his second ATP Head2Headvert assembly with the No. 31-ranked Cerundolo.

“After the Australian Open, I had some issue with an injury,” stated Khachanov, whose straight-sets win in opposition to Tsitsipas snapped his 23-match losing-streak in opposition to Top 10 opponents. “I came back in Dubai without having played many matches and I’m just happy to continue that level. I just want to continue that way, enjoy the process, and enjoy the journey. It continues.”

Khachanov’s ratio of 25 winners to 9 unforced errors in opposition to Tsitsipas actually suggests he’s a person excessive on confidence, and the World No. 16 will doubtless want to breed that kind in opposition to Cerundolo in a gathering between two gamers who excel from the baseline. Khachanov wanted three units to assert victory within the pair’s solely earlier tour-level assembly final yr in Montreal, and he can be cautious of an opponent who boasts a stellar historical past at Hard Rock Stadium.

Cerundolo’s fourth-round win in opposition to Lorenzo Sonego improved his document in Miami to 9-1. He defeated Gael Monfils and Frances Tiafoe en path to the semi-finals on occasion debut in 2022, and the Argentine was ruthless in dispatching fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime on this yr’s third spherical.

In Auger-Aliassime and Sonego, Cerundolo defeated opponents famend for moving into court docket to strike winners at each alternative. In contast, Cerundolo can anticipate Khachanov to settle into prolonged rallies to supply a stern check of the Argentine’s bodily mettle. Can the 24-year-old reply with one other dose of Miami magic?