Daniil Medvedev may be a self-proclaimed hard-court specialist, but–relative to his lofty standards–the BNP Paribas Open has been unkind. In fact, it is the only hard-court Masters 1000 event that Medvedev has never won–although he did make it all the way to the final last spring.
The Russian is on another roll in the desert 12 months later, this time with less drama and fewer theatrics. He required three sets against Sebastian Korda on Monday, but for the most part Medvedev has cruised into the quarterfinals. The world No. 4 set up a showdown against either Holger Rune or Taylor Fritz after beating Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday afternoon.
Medvedev won 84 percent of his first-serve points and broke Dimitrov three times, benefiting from five double-faults off the racket of his opponent. The third seed prevailed in one hour and 16 minutes.
“I think in general I played well,” Medvedev assessed. “I was really consistent. I’m happy to beat such a great opponent in Grigor. To play against him is always a challenge and I’m happy I managed to overcome it this time.”
Dimitrov had previously defeated the 28-year-old three times in nine tries.
Medvedev is joined in the last eight by Casper Ruud and Tommy Paul. Ruud battled past Gael Monfils in three sets on Wednesday, while Paul ended the run of Luca Nardi 6-4, 6-4. Nardi famously upset Novak Djokovic in the third round.
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