Medvedev crashes out of Wimbledon amid controversy
London, Jul 6 (EFE).- Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz pulled off one of the biggest upsets of this year’s Wimbledon, rallying to defeat second-ranked Russian Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 here Tuesday and advance to a quarterfinal clash against eight-time champion Roger Federer.
The 18th-ranked Hurkacz, who made a surprise run to the Miami Masters title in April, is in the final eight of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time after winning a match that was suspended due to rain and darkness on Monday and completed on Tuesday.
The contest was marred by controversy because of the tournament’s decision not to move the match from No. 2 Court to Centre Court following the conclusion of Federer’s straight-set round-of-16 victory over Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego on Monday.
That decision means that Hurkacz will have less rest than Federer heading into their Wednesday quarterfinal contest.
Medvedev appeared to be in total control of the match after a dominating performance on serve in the third set, in which he lost only three points across five service games and won 89 percent of his second-serve points.
But the match slipped away from the Russian when play resumed on Tuesday on Centre Court with him serving down 3-4 in the fourth set.
Hurkacz won the first two games after the restart to force a fifth set and then rolled to victory in the decider thanks to a barrage of Medvedev mistakes.
After making just 21 unforced errors through four sets, the Russian committed 12 in just nine games of the final set. By contrast, Hurkacz gave away just one point in the decider and used his big weapon on the first serve to clinch the victory in just over three hours of play.
“Playing on this unbelievable court, probably the best in the world, with an amazing crowd, is really special,” Hurkacz said in an on-court interview. “Daniil is an unbelievable player. We battled so hard on No. 2 Court. So to win is incredible. I knew I needed to get off to a strong start today and I think I did a pretty good job.”
Medvedev, meanwhile, rued his poor performance over the last set and a half.
“(I) played really bad today,” the Russian said. “He definitely played really well. I played probably (my) worst two sets since Rome. I will just continue working. Today my best was really low, but I did my best.”
Hurkacz and Federer have never squared off on grass. In one previous contest on hard court at the 2019 Indian Wells Masters, the Swiss great came out on top 6-4, 6-4. EFE
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