Indian Wells: Daniil Medvedev defeats Mackenzie McDonald to reach third round

US Open champion Daniil Medvedev defeated American Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-2 and advanced to the third round at the Indian Wells tournament on Saturday.

It extended his winning streak to eight matches dating to his US Open championship last month. Medvedev never faced a break point against McDonald, who was broken three times.

“I’m actually really pleased, because usually I haven’t played well in Indian Wells and I haven’t been playing that well in practices before (the tournament),” Medvedev said in his on-court interview.

“(I am) really happy with my performance. That’s the most important (thing), no matter how I played before the tournament.”

The 25-year-old Medvedev was sharp from the outset, breaking McDonald to open the match on a warm night in the Southern California desert.

Medvedev’s ability to cover the court despite his towering frame, an aspect of his game that was on full display when he won a 44-shot rally, proved too much for the challenger, who never really pushed the tournament favorite.

Medvedev unleashed a blistering serve to McDonald’s backhand on match point and the return sailed wide to end the affair.

The Russian ended world number one Novak Djokovic’s shot at history last month by stopping his bid for a calendar year Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows.

Next up for Medvedev is Filip Krajinovic, who defeated Marcos Giron 7-6(2) 7-5 in the second round at the Masters 1000 tournament.

Karolina Pliskova advanced to the third round with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Magdalena Frech at the combined ATP and WTA event. Pliskova fired six aces, giving her a Tour-leading 387 this year, and converted five of her six break points.