Playing his first Masters event as No. 1 seed, Daniil Medvedev put his best foot forward.
Sporting new Lacoste kicks, the second-ranked Russian high-stepped past 37-year-old Yen-Hsun Lu 6-2, 6-2 to power into the Miami Open third round vs. Singapore champion Alexei Popyrin.
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On a day when several seeds—including third-seeded Alexander Zverev, eighth-seeded David Goffin, ninth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov and 30th-seeded Reilly Opelka—were all bounced from the draw, Medvedev rolled to his 15th victory of the year joining Russian teammate and buddy Andrey Rublev as the second man to post 15 victories on the season.
"I think it's great for both of us that we are doing so good. I mean, Russian tennis is definitely on the rise right now, and I like it," Medvedev said. "We want people to talk more about tennis in Russia. That's what's happening right now. You know, we want TV to show more tennis in Russia. That's one of the goals.
"I think when you start to be good you want to promote your sport in your country. I feel like we succeed, and I'm really happy that I have a lot of wins this year. For sure I'm going to see my schedule, going to maybe play a little bit less tournaments than I was usually, but so far happy with a lot of wins."
The Australian Open finalist showcased his new Lacoste AGLT21ultra tennis shoes that he helped develop and play test over the course of about a year.
"The shoes we have been working for like a year maybe together with Lacoste. They hired some specialists to build the best shoe possible," Medvedev said. "I know we had a lot of tests together, so was really a constructive work all together and I really enjoyed it. I feel like it's a good shoe.
"I mean, movement is important in my game, and I feel like I'm moving good in it. That's the first part. And then, yeah, I'm enjoying my brand. Being second in the world helps in terms of possibilities. You know, if you're 100 in the world, it's the rough truth, but nobody kind of in a way wants you if we talk about marketing and stuff unless you do something special."
Photo credit: Mark Brown/Getty