Miami Open: Andy Murray loses to Daniil Medvedev as Heather Watson also goes out

2 years ago 26

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Britain's Andy Murray lost to Russian top seed Daniil Medvedev at the Miami Open, as Heather Watson also went out.

Medvedev, who must reach the semi-finals in Miami to reclaim the world number one ranking from Novak Djokovic, won 6-4 6-2.

Murray, 34, a two-time winner, has not won back-to-back matches since January.

Compatriot Watson was beaten in straight sets by Switzerland's Belinda Bencic in her third-round match, losing 6-4 6-1 in Florida.

Watson, who claimed her first win over a top-20 player since 2020 by defeating Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the previous round, was contesting a third-round match in Miami for the first time in six years.

The Briton had taken a 4-2 lead in the opening set but world number 28 Bencic responded emphatically, winning 10 of the following 11 games to reach the last 16.

Three-time Grand Slam winner Murray, ranked 85th in the world, could not respond after being broken by Medvedev in the third game of the first set.

Medvedev lost the world number one ranking to 20-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic on Monday, having replaced the Serb as number one for three weeks.

The 26-year-old, who is not allowed to compete under his country's flag following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saw out the match efficiently after breaking Murray's serve for a 3-2 lead in the second set.

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