Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP) – It was in the middle of the second set and Daniel Medvedev was standing several feet behind the baseline, his hands on one of his knees, his sweat making his dark blue shirt darker as he tried to catch his breath.
Hubert Hurkaz, on the other hand at that moment, looked like he was spending a day on the beach.
He will not be number one in the world once the Miami Open is over. He has confirmed that Medvedev will not be there either. Eighth seed, Hurkaj, topped the men’s quarterfinals on Thursday and beat Cramp-Redeed Medvedev 7-6 (7), 6-3 to take two wins away from defending his Miami title.
“Every muscle just ‘cramped, cramped, cramped, cramped,'” Medvedev said. “I was like a fish on a sofa.”
Hurkaj shook him like a fish on a sofa, of course, there could be a reason for a fish to be on the sofa.
“I was coming back pretty well, I was putting some pressure on his serve and it was helping my game,” Hurkaj said. “I was able to get some free points in my survey and it was pretty big.”
If Medvedev had won, he would have overtaken Novak Djokovic on Monday to return to number one in the world rankings. Instead, the Russians will be ranked No. 2 in the world and, like everyone else, will find out who will win the Miami title on Sunday.
“For me, winning the match was more important than being No. 1,” Medvedev said.
Hurkaj of Poland will next face Carlos Alcaraz (14) of Spain or Miomi Kekmanovic of Serbia in the semifinals. Kekmanovich and Alkaraj will play in the last quarter final on Thursday.
In the other semifinal, they will face sixth seed Francisco Serundlo of Argentina against Caspar Rude of Norway.
Hurkaz has played Medvedev four times, and Medvedev is ranked No. 2 in the world in each of those meetings – which they are now divided into. Hurcage has improved to 14-5 this year, and his record in Miami is 12-1 all-time.
“It’s a lot of fun to come here,” Hurkaj said.
The women’s semifinals were also on Thursday, with No. 22 seed Belinda Bensic and No. 16 Jessica Pegula facing No. 2 Iga Suatek – who will now replace retired Ashleigh Berti at No. 1 in the world on Monday. .