The Russian Daniil Medvedev, world number five, beat the Spanish Daniel Mérida this Wednesday 7-6 (7/5) and 6-1 to advance to the round of 16 of the ATP 500 in Vienna, a tournament that is held on an indoor hard court.
Mérida, ranked 42nd in the world ranking, fought back in the first set, which was resolved in a tiebreaker. However, Medvedev imposed his hierarchy in the second round, in which he dominated to seal his qualification for the next round.
The Russian’s next rival will be the British Cameron Norrie, world number 41, who will seek to surprise one of the main contenders for the title. The winner of that match will face the Frenchman Adrian Mannarino (73rd) in the quarterfinals, who defeated the Czech Jakub Mensik (16th) 6-4 and 7-5.
For their part, the first two favorites of the tournament already know their next opponents. The German Alexander Zverev, second in the world ranking, will face the Dutch Tallon Griekspoor (50th), while the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz, third in the ranking, will play against the Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili (95th).
The Austrian tournament thus enters a decisive phase, with several of the main candidates seeking their place among the best eight.
