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Second seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia beat Cristian Garin of Chile 6-3 6-3 in the second round of the Shanghai Masters on Saturday, October 7. The match lasted an hour and a half, as the 27-year-old Russian did not have to toil much for the win.
Medvedev will face Sebastian Korda of the United States in the third round on Monday. Korda is a fine player but he will have to play exceedingly well to topple Medvedev, who remains one of the world’s best on hardcourts.
On that note, here's a look at two things that stood out in the match:
#1 Garin was error-prone
Garin made Medvedev’s job easier by repeatedly committing unforced errors, especially off his forehand. On a slow surface, Medvedev opted not to put too much power behind his shots and didn't try to hit through the Chilean.
Instead, he used the slice often, played his groundstrokes with restraint, and waited for his opponent to make mistakes. Garin often hit his forehand into the net or long to gift points to the Russian.
Medvedev broke Garin in the third game of the first set to lead 2-1, but the Chilean broke back to level the score. However, Medvedev won four consecutive games to close out the set.
#2 Garin rushed the net often, but Medvedev held firm
Failing to win the battle from the baseline, Garin often rushed the net and managed to hit a couple of winners through volleys and overhead smashes. However, they were few and far between and were not enough to dent the Russian's challenge.
The Chilean, who is most comfortable playing on clay, also employed a lot of topspin on his crosscourt forehand but it was not very effective on this surface. Medvedev, in comparison, hit most of his forehands flat to keep the pressure on his opponent.
Medvedev won the first four games of the second set to make it eight consecutive games in his favor. Although Garin salvaged one of the breaks, Medvedev had no problem closing the match out.
Garin managed to win only 68% of the points on his first serve, which was significantly lower than Medvedev’s 81%. The Russian broke Garin five times overall to register a solid win so typical of him on hardcourts.
