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Daniil Medvedev defeated Hubert Hurkacz 2-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(5), in a tight game where the margins were thin between both of these players, to reach the semi-finals of the ATP Toronto Masters. Medvedev lost to Hurkacz at Wimbledon, so taking back a win against him was certainly in the top seed Russian’s mind.
Medvedev finished the game with 23 aces. Both started evenly as they dominated behind their first serves but Hurkacz’s baseline game was strong. A double fault allowed the Pole to move to a comfortable lead of 4-2. This frustrated Medvedev, who committed 16 unforced errors which include an error off a bounce smash to give the set away. The windy conditions did not help at all for Medvedev.
Hurkacz made the Russian dance to his baseline game, as Medvedev was running side to side as his shots were redirected. Then, the first seed improved his serving during the second set. He saved two breakpoints, to allow the set to be tied at 3-3. He only dropped two points behind his serve and forced a tie break, where Hurkacz messed up his smash shot into the net, as Medvedev won a set point.
The third set was evenly contested as both players did not concede any breakpoints. This set too went to a tie break where Medvedev fired up his 23rd ace to win the set and the match. Medvedev stated that the Polish player indeed was dominating him for two sets. He further said that it was a hard match but winning these will boost his confidence.
Medvedev will meet the winner of the Gael Monfils vs John Isner match in the semifinals. He seeks his fourth ATP Masters 1000 title and 12th tour title overall. He will also want to go to his second final in Canada, the first one being in 2019 at Montreal where he lost to Rafael Nadal.
