Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia beat Ilya Ivashka of Belarus 6-2 3-6 6-1 in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Sunday. The match lasted for well over two hours, but Daniil Medvedev proved to be too strong in the end to register his 16th consecutive win.
The 27-year-old Russian will face 12th seed Alexander Zverev of Germany in the Round of 16 on Tuesday. On that note, we will take a look at how the match progressed:
Daniil Medvedev Edges Past Ilya Ivashka in Indian Wells
Daniil Medvedev’s impregnable defense proved to be too much for Ivashka in the first set:
Ivashka started the match on an aggressive note and made Medvedev move from side to side frequently. However, the Russian was virtually impregnable with his superb defense and unparalleled lateral movement. Ivashka frequently pulled the trigger by going for down-the-line shots off his forehand, but Medvedev managed to reach the ball in time on most of the occasions.
Judging that he would not be able to win the baseline rallies, Ivashka started going to the net frequently and also dragged his opponent to the net by playing drop shots. However, Medvedev yet again proved to be the superior player with his accurate passing shots. The Russian broke Ivashka in the sixth game and then again in the eighth game to win the set comfortably. Ivashka’s first serve was not powerful enough and he could win only 50% of the points on his first serve.
Ivashka won the second set, but Daniil Medvedev changed his tactic to win the match:
Medvedev’s lateral movement became somewhat sluggish in the second set and Ivashka took advantage. He broke Medvedev in the eighth game and then served out the set. However, the Russian then changed his tactic in the third set by venturing into the net far more often.
As a result, the big Russian, who also kept hitting aces at regular intervals, won a lot of points with volleys and also dispatched a few short balls for winners. He won the first five games of the third set displaying almost flawless tennis and although Ivashka could somehow escape a bagel, Medvedev did not have much problem in securing a win.
Main Photo Credit: Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK
