US Open Champion Daniil Medvedev Stunned By Grigor Dimitrov In Indian Wells
NDTV
Reigning US Open champion Daniil Medvedev is out of the ATP Indian Wells Masters, falling in the fourth round to No. 23 seed Grigor Dimitrov.
Reigning US Open champion Daniil Medvedev is out of the ATP Indian Wells Masters, falling in the fourth round to No. 23 seed Grigor Dimitrov 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday. Medvedev, who won his first Grand Slam title last month at Flushing Meadows, hadn't lost a set heading into the fourth round but dropped eight straight games against Dimitrov en route to a stunning early exit for the top seed. World No. 2 Medvedev did not take a break after his emotional US Open victory and said his busy schedule may have finally caught up to him. "I did feel exhausted in this tournament. Now I can say it. I couldn't say it before my matches. There are a few physical things that have come up," said Medvedev, who is hoping to eventually overtake Novak Djokovic for number one in the world.
Medvedev won the first set, was up 4-1 in the second and appeared to be cruising to another easy victory when the wheels came off -- his unforced errors mounting and service game falling flat.
Medvedev had no answers for the way Dimitrov was playing and predicted the Bulgarian would likely go on to capture the title.
"If he plays like this, like the way he played me from 4-1, then he is going to win the tournament," Medvedev said. "He played the second half of the match better than anyone did against me at the US Open. It is not like I gave him the match."
The match turned in the sixth game of the second set as Dimitrov broke Medvedev's serve for the second time in the set to cut the Russian's lead to 4-2.