By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, March 28, 2021
Clutching his Tecnifibre racquet as if it were a cane, Daniil Medvedev hobbled around the court in clear pain.
Suffering stinging apparent left leg cramps that staggered him on a sticky afternoon, a gritty Medvedev made a fierce stand.
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The top seed fought off punishing cramps and a powerful Alexei Popyrin 7-6(3), 6-7(7), 6-4 in a dramatic and gutsy Miami Open triumph.
"It was really painful," Medvedev said. "The thing about standing up is that few moments during rallies I felt like my legs were not following me anymore.
"The only thing I was thinking about is not to fall down, because if you fall down, I don't think I would be able to get up."
The heat, humidity and a free-swinging opponent all conspired to wreak havoc with Medvedev's legs and haunt his head.
"So there were some moments where I just wanted, you know, to lay down and say, Okay, it's over," Medvedev said. "So I knew that that's the thing I couldn't accept myself to do. Yeah, I was in big pain.
"The biggest pain was when I actually got a 4-3 break up, and after the first point I don't know what happened, but I, like, I probably didn't feel it that often in my life, maybe two or three times before, and my serve, which was actually I would say maybe even terrible during the match, saved me then. So thanks a lot to my serve."
Prior to stepping on court, Medvedev knew he was in for a severe battle against buddy and sometime practice partner Popyrin, who won his first career ATP title in Singapore last month.
It was all that and more.
Playing a Masters third round for the first time, Popyrin takes positive from nearly toppling the top seed.
"It's encouraging. We said with my coach before the match that this is a perfect test to test where my level is at right now," Popyrin said afterward. "You know, the guy is the best in the world right now, one of the best. Well, No. 2 in the world, obviously. So, you know, it's a perfect way to test where my level is right now.
"For me to take him to three, for me to practically make him cramp and stay out there and me feel healthy and him struggling on court, you know that just shows where my level's at. A few more experiences like this, who knows how far I can go?"
In the first-set tie breaker, Medvedev dipped a forehand pass for 3-1, waving to the crowd exhorting fans on Grandstand Court to make some noise. Popyrin, who can spread the court beautifully when he's in form, can also spray shots when ambition gets the best of him. The lanky Aussie committed successive errors to gift a 5-1 lead to the top seed.
When a flat Medvedev return floated and and wavered in the wind like a whiffle ball, Popyrin whiffed on shot handing the Russian three set points. Popyrin netted a backhand as Medvedev snatched the opening set in 52 minutes.
Returning from his customary deep positioning closer to the blue back wall than the baseline, Medvedev read his opponent's attack and sent a low return that stymied a serve-and-volley attempt from Popyrin gave the Australian Open finalist a second break point. Popyrin popped up a volley and Medvedev second break point Pop wide serve Popy volley sat up and Meddy swooped in swatting a forehand pass to break for a 3-1 second-set lead.
The second-ranked Russian held three match points at love-40 on Popyrin's serve in the 10th game.
The finish line seemed a formality, but Popyrin was far from done.
The world No. 86 fought off a pair of match points with stinging serves then caught a break when Medvedev wacked a wild forehand well long on the third match point. Popyrin stood tall battling through a hard-fought hold to extend an increasingly physical test and put the pressure right back on the top seed.
In the second-set tie breaker, Popyrin held set points at 6-5 and 7-6. Medvedev hit a forehand winner to save the first and Popyrin double faulted to squander the second. Still, the Aussie kept pushing, pounced on a second serve return and drilled a diagonal forehand winner to snatch the second set and force a decider after one hour, 56 minutes of play.
The two-time Grand Slam finalist called for a sports drink at the start of the final set and was walking more slowly suggesting the suffering to come.
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Serving at 2-3 in the final set, Medvedev was suffering the onset of cramps in his left leg and stood throughout changeovers. He incurred a time violation warning as he paced behind the baseline and lifted his left leg a few times as if trying to shake free those cramps. Medvedev rapped a backhand winner down the line holding at 30 for 3-3.
"I mean, at the end it was just that I almost couldn't walk. My legs were, again, not following me," Medvedev said. "I couldn't bend it or make it straight, like I had to keep the same posture. I couldn't make a step more than, I don't know, 10 centimeters.
"But the thing is that, funny thing about all this, is that on the serve, for sure, it's better when you can push, you can jump and everything, but shoulder and arm makes also a big part. So I knew I just have to put the serve in, try to hit it strong, and it worked well. To be honest, usually in these moments, you're not even thinking about winning. You're just thinking, okay, how can I maybe stay in this match or something like this."
The lanky Russian was reeling and needed a lifeline. He got it when Popyrin missed a slice backhand and a ballooned a forehand beyond the baseline to gift the break and 4-3 lead.
"In that tense situation, I fell into the trap of playing his game, and you don't beat him when you play his game," Popyrin said. "He's the best at his game. Rallies from the baseline, try change of direction here and there, and that stuff doesn't work against him.
"And also, when I saw him cramping a little bit, he was struggling a bit on the game that he broke me. I didn't make a first serve in that whole game. Thinking back on it now, you know, and after talking with my team about it, you know, could have put a slider wide, a kick serve wide and made him run to the other."
After earning the break, Medvedev called for the trainer and took some tablets. Then the hobbled Australian Open finalist went all in on serving throwing down a 126 mph ace and crackling serve winner squeezing out a hold for 5-3.
The world No. 2 was four points from the finish line but could he physically stand to take the final steps?
Gritting his teeth and shuffling on short steps around the court, Medvedev persevered through the pain and made a stand. Hammering a barrage of forehands, he took a 30-15 lead. Medvedev closed a two hour, 37-minute stress test when Popyrin pushed a backhand into net.
"I'm cramping," Medvedev told the trainer before devouring a couple of bananas and sucking down an electrolyte drink.
It was a gutsy victory for Medvedev, who showed spirited survival skills to reach a round of 16 match vs. either 16th-seeded Dusan Lajovic or Frances Tiafoe.
Two hours after the match, Medvedev said he was recovering and will be ready for battle on Tuesday.
"Now is okay, because two hours passed, you know, you do the recovery, get some fluids, you rest," Medvedev said. "I was not running on a treadmill. Now I'm feeling good. Definitely legs are really sore after they were cramping, but day off tomorrow so nothing to worry about."
Photo credit: Mark Brown/Getty