Playing in his first match since June and making his debut at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel, Daniil Medvedev eased back into competition with a 6-4, 6-3 result against Australian wild card Rinky Hijikata.
The World No. 1 earned his 250th match win as he returned to his favoured hard courts for the first time since his run to the Miami quarter-finals in March.
"Somebody told me this a few days ago at media day, otherwise I would not have known," Medvedev said of the reaching the 250-wins landmark. "That's probably a milestone in a way. For sure I want more victories but that's also nice to have 250. We'll try to get more."
"It's definitely not that easy to play after you stop for a while, especially [playing my] first match on hard courts in a long, long time, since Miami," he said. "Sensations were not bad. I could have just broke a little bit more, but when you win, everything is fine. I have to play like this in the next matches."
QF BOUND in Los Cabos! 💪@DaniilMedwed defeats Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-3.@AbiertoLosCabos | #ATC2022 pic.twitter.com/yc9qZjrYGs
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 4, 2022Hijikata, a North Carolina Tar Heel and the World No. 224, did not go down quietly. Enjoying the occasion, the 21-year-old created his share of highlights by using his athleticism to cover the court and made Medvedev work for over 90 minutes on court.
Through to the quarter-finals, Medvedev next faces Ricardas Berankis, who defeated Facundo Bagnis 7-6(4), 6-3 on Wednesday.
[ATP APP]