Danil Medevdev played on after rolling his ankle in the second set and extended his win streak 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5 over Alexander Zverev in the Indian Wells Masters fourth round on Tuesday.
Former No. 1 Medvedev came into the match having won his last 16 matches, a run which includes consecutive titles in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai. He added one more to his total with the win in three and a quarter hours.
The fifth seed caught his right ankle in the sixth game of the second set as he prepared for a shot, rolling to the ground and causing enough concern for Zverev to cross the net to offer help.
After a few moments, Medvedev was able to walk to his chair and got a taping from the physio during a medical time out after the incident in the sixth game of the second set.
“It will be painful in two hours,” he said post-match. “When I twisted it, the pain came really fast. .
“I thought maybe I had hurt some ligaments and would not be able to play. I gave it a try and surprisingly found it easier to run than to walk.
“I will get a scan now and see if I’m able to continue here.”
The 2021 US Open champion quickly regained his rhythm as he matched it with Zverev – who lost half of last season after a more serious ankle injury in a Roland Garros semi-final.
The set finally went into a tiebreaker, where Medvedev squared the contest after two and a half hours with an inspired tiebreak polished off with a volley winner/
The third set featured another plot twist, with Zverev saving a match point as his opponent served for it while leading 5-4.
“That was the toughest moment when I had the match point,” Medvedev said. “I could have played a little better in that game.
“But then he double-faulted (to lose the next game). That’s what tennis is – it’s crazy, up and down.
Indian Wells had been the only hardcourt Masters 1000 where Medvedev had not reached at least the quarter-finals..
Medvedev, now 7-6 in the series with Zverev, won with 40 winners and an equal number of unforced errors. Zverev had 41 but committed 51 unforced errors.
The winner saved all 10 break points he faced.
