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World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev has finally clinched his first victory over Roberto Bautista Agut as on Friday the Russian saw off the Spaniard 6-2 6-4 in the Halle quarterfinal. Medvedev, who lost the first three meetings versus Bautista Agut, got off to a fast start to their fourth meeting, breaking the Spaniard twice to easily win the first set.
After winning the first set, Medvedev earned the lone break of the second set in the seventh game for a 4-3 lead, and then held on to his serve the rest of the match to clinch a straight-win. “Well first of all, he’s a great player!” Medvedev said, per the ATP website.
“I remember all the matches we had. He was playing some [great] tennis and it was tough for me to win. Today I had my plan, managed to keep it going. Definitely got more edge on the most important points, because he had more break points than me.
It was not easy, and I’m happy to win”.
Medvedev not taking Oscar Otte for granted
Next up for Medvedev will be a career-first meeting versus 51st-ranked Oscar Otte. Medvedev will enter the match as the big favorite but he insists he can't take the German for granted.
“I know that he’s a great player, especially on grass and he plays very good on clay also," said Medvedev. "He made the semis [in Stuttgart] last week, losing to Matteo [Berrettini] in two tie-breakers. So he’s a great player, great serve, great volleyer- So it’s not going to be easy.
I need to prepare well, show my best tennis and try to win. We’ve warmed up twice [together] and practised once [this week], even playing a set which ended in a tie-break. So we’ve started to know each other better and better, so it’s actually fun that we are playing each other tomorrow, because when you practise with one player a lot, it’s fun to see him in the tournament later in the week. But tomorrow we are definitely not going to be friends!”