Wednesday proved to be a day of upsets on the ATP Tour as seeded players fell by the wayside. Here are the players that crashed out:
Dusan Lajovic bt Daniil Medvedev
Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic hit 15 winners on Wednesday in a 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over top-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev in one hour and 35 minutes at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.
Now *THIS* is a no-look 😂#abnamrowtt pic.twitter.com/kr3Dt5nsa0
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 3, 2021
Medvedev could have risen to a career-high No. 2 in the ATP Rankings with a run to the Rotterdam final.
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The 25-year-old drops to a 10-2 record on the 2021 season, which includes helping Russia capture the ATP Cup (d. Italy) and a run to the Australian Open final (l. to Djokovic).
Medvedev has now won 20 of his past 22 matches stretching back to November 2020.
Kei Nishikori bt Alex De Minaur
Former World No 4 Kei Nishikori continued his impressive form in Rotterdam, as he defeated Alex De Minaur 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 to enter the quarterfinal.
The Japanese player, currently ranked 45 in the world, had beaten promising youngster Felix Auger Aliassime in straight sets in the opening round.
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“I did it after elbow surgery [in October 2019] and last December. I was working with Max [Mirnyi], Michael [Chang] and a Japanese coach as well,” Nishikori said. “I tried to look again with my serve and I needed more power, but less use of my shoulder. I was hurting my shoulder too, last year.
“I don’t feel 100 per cent yet, but I think it’s on the way. I was hitting good serves the past two matches, today and [in] the first round, so I’m happy with my serve now.”
Alexander Bublik bt Alexander Zverev
Alexander Bublik recorded the biggest win of his career on Wednesday in Rotterdam.
The Kazakh played with great discipline to beat World No. 7 Alexander Zverev of Germany 7-5, 6-3 in 77 minutes for a place in the second round at the Rotterdam Ahoy.
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“Beating Sascha is great,” said Bublik, who has won his past three matches against Top 10 opponents. “There were ups and downs for both of us throughout the match, I got a bit lucky and I was perhaps a little more consistent. I’m just enjoying playing matches right now.”
Sumit Nagal bt Cristian Garin
India’s Sumit Nagal registered the biggest win of his career when he stunned second seed Cristian Garin of Chile in straight sets to enter the quarterfinals of the Argentina Open ATP 250 tournament in Buenos Aires.
Nagal peaking on clay 🙃
World No.150 @nagalsumit scores the biggest W of his career, dispatching No.2 seed Cristian Garin 6-4 6-3 in Buenos Aires!#ArgOpen2021 pic.twitter.com/oUSqelMsjp
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 4, 2021
Nagal, ranked 150, scored an impressive 6-4 6-3 second round win over his Chilean rival, who is ranked way above at No 22 in the ATP charts.
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Nagal will play Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas, in what will be the Indian’s maiden quarterfinal appearance at the ATP Tour level.
Andrey Rublev bt Andy Murray
It wasn’t quite an upset, but Andrey Rublev defeated former World No 1 Andy Murray in his highly-anticipated clash in Rotterdam.
The Russian fired 24 winners and committed just 12 unforced errors to beat Murray 7-5, 6-2.
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Rublev has won 17 straight matches at ATP 500 events. The 23-year-old is attempting to capture his fourth straight title at ATP 500-level.
“I want to be playing at this level because I learn a lot from a match like tonight,” said Murray, who is on the road to recovery from hip and pelvic injuries.
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“The issues and the mistakes that you make get amplified more at this level… It is getting that balance right between getting enough matches and then also playing at a level where I am able to learn and pick things up as quickly as possible.
“I do feel tonight there were some good, positive signs there. Just when it mattered, I wasn’t good enough. I will need to improve.”
