Medvedev overcomes early nerves to defeat Sonego in Dubai

Daniil Medvedev recovered from a slow start on Wednesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where he overcame Lorenzo Sonego 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals at the ATP 500 for the second time.

The top seed struggled on serve in the first set, winning just 53 per cent (10/19) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP stats. However, he hit with much more aggression in the second and third sets, firing off both wings to back up pinpoint first serves.

"I went on court and was not feeling right. I was too nervous and too tight, which does not happen often to me," Medvedev said. "I was making a lot of mistakes and had nerves. Sometimes it takes a set to calm down and if I continue to do what I did in the first set, that is not going to work. I just had to change, to be more calm, and if that doesn't work it is his day, but it worked."

Medvedev gained the decisive break of the second set in the eighth game before he broke twice in the decider to advance after two hours and one minute.

Medvedev has now won his past seven matches in Dubai, having lifted the title in 2023. The 28-year-old will next play Alejandro Davidovich Fokina after the Spaniard advanced after #NextGenATP Czech Jakub Mensik was forced to retire at 6-7(7), 0-1.

The No. 4 player in the PIF ATP Rankings is competing for the first time since the Australian Open final in January, when he squandered a two-sets-to-love lead in the title match against Italian Jannik Sinner.