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Wild card Martin Damm beat top seed Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-3 in the second round of the Winston-Salem Open, the American’s first career win over a top-10 opponent. Fifth seed Raphael Collignon and sixth seed Mariano Navone also went out, while Juan Manuel Cerundolo ended Dhakshineswar Suresh’s run. Medvedev arrives at the US Open having lost four of his last five matches.
Winston-Salem, United States: He had asked for a wild card to get here. He leaves with the biggest win of his career.
Martin Damm, 22 and competing at a career-high ranking of 92, took one hour and 22 minutes to remove the world No. 8 and 2018 champion at this event. “That’s obviously the best win of my life,” he said afterwards, calling it a confidence boost with the US Open a week away.
Five Points Behind the First Serve
The numbers explain it. Damm, who stands six foot eight, dropped just five points behind his first delivery across the match. He never lost serve, saved both break points he faced, and broke Medvedev twice from three opportunities.
The height told at the net. Damm won 20 of his 28 approaches; Medvedev managed two from four.
The first set went to 5-5 before Medvedev sprayed a double fault to hand over a set point and then sent a backhand long to concede the break. Forty-nine minutes, and the opener was gone. The second followed without Medvedev ever finding a way to impose himself from the baseline.
ALSO READ: Suresh’s Winston-Salem run ends in the second round against eighth seed Cerundolo
He returns to New York in poor form, having lost four of his last five and exited early in both Montreal and Cincinnati. Damm meets 15th seed Fabian Marozsan next, the Hungarian having beaten Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4 for his third win over the Serb since mid-June.
Two More Seeds Gone
Medvedev was not the only casualty. Raphael Collignon, the fifth seed, went out to Rinky Hijikata, the Australian recovering from a set down to win 3-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (5) — two tiebreaks, both to the wire.
Sixth seed Mariano Navone went the same way, beaten 6-3, 7-6 (5) by another Australian, James Duckworth.
Suresh Takes a Set to the Wire
Dhakshineswar Suresh’s week ended against eighth seed Juan Manuel Cerundolo, but not before the Indian pushed him to 12-10 in the opening tiebreak. Cerundolo won it 7-6 (10), 6-3.
Suresh, ranked 394th, had entered the draw as a lucky loser and beaten Marcos Giron for his maiden ATP Tour main-draw victory a day earlier. It is his best result at the tournament and, at a venue he knows from his college days at Wake Forest University, an unusually satisfying week for a player outside the top 350.
The Seeds Who Survived
Second seed Luciano Darderi and third seed Ignacio Buse both needed three sets to come through. Fourth seed Arthur Fery required only two. Lorenzo Sonego, Sebastian Baez, Aleksandar Kovacevic and Francisco Comesana also advanced, as did Jenson Brooksby, who beat Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-3, 6-2.
With Medvedev out, the ATP 250 heads into its third round without the name that led the field — and with a 22-year-old wild card still in it.
Second-round results — Winston-Salem Open
M. Damm (WC) d. [1] D. Medvedev 7-5, 6-3
[15] F. Marozsan d. M. Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4
R. Hijikata d. [5] R. Collignon 3-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (5)
J. Duckworth d. [6] M. Navone 6-3, 7-6 (5)
[8] J. M. Cerundolo d. D. Suresh 7-6 (10), 6-3
J. Brooksby d. G. Mpetshi Perricard 6-3, 6-2
Venue: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
