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Former world No. 5 Daniela Hantuchova suggested the conditions in Miami don't really Daniil Medvedev's game. On Thursday, No. 1 seed Medvedev suffered a surprise loss to Hubert Hurkacz in the Miami quarterfinal. Hurkacz, seeded at No.
6, upset the Russian 7-6 (7) 6-3. Medvedev has now played in Miami four times and he has never made it past the quarterfinal. Last year, Medvedev was upset by Roberto Bautista Agut in the Miami quarterfinal. “We saw Daniil struggling here big time last year as well," Hantuchova noted while speaking on Amazon Prime.
“Some players deal with humidity with more difficulty than others. It’s not comfortable out there. It’s not easy and it’s been a long hard-court season already. “This pace of court forces Daniil to be more aggressive.
He can’t absorb the opponents power as much. That takes extra effort as well”.
Hurkacz denies Medvedev from reclaiming the No. 1 ranking
After the ATP rankings got updated after Indian Wells, Medvedev lost his No.
1 ranking to Novak Djokovic. However, Medvedev arrived to Miami knowing he had a strong chance of reclaiming the No. 1 ranking. Since Djokovic was denied entry into the United States and couldn't win any points, Medvedev just needed to reach the Miami semifinal in order to overtake Djokovic.
After a shock third round exit in Indian Wells, Medvedev spoke about being determined to make a strong Miami result and get back to the top spot. Medvedev needed to beat Hurkacz but it was the Pole that started the match well as the No.
6 seed took an early 3-0 lead in the first set. Medvedev saved two set points in the eighth game and broke back Hurkacz in the ninth game to force a tie-break but the Pole kept his focus and won the tie-break. After winning a tight first set, Hurkacz broke Medvedev twice in the second set to clinch a two-set win.
