Christopher Eubanks can climb high in the ATP rankings if he finds consistency on the back of an outstanding Miami Open run, says Daniil Medvedev, while the Russian believes his last-eight opponent showed any player in the top 300 can go deep in a big tournament.
The 26-year-old earned main-draw wins over Denis Kudla, Borna Coric, Gregoire Barrere and Adrian Mannarino to rise 34 places in the rankings up to No. 85.
Medvedev, who has won 18 ATP Tour titles, including three this year already, believes that Eubanks’ run shows the quality that the lower-ranked players possess.
“I knew (about the depth of men’s tennis). I played Challengers, I actually only have one Challenger title out of maybe 30 or 40 I played. I have much more ATP titles,” Medvedev said after his victory.
He continued: “The Challenger level is tough. Everyone knows how to play. The difference is the consistency – if Chris manages to play how he played this tournament, he’s going to go up, up and up.
“Then you never know if it’s top 10, top 50. But in one week everyone can play amazing. Out of the top 300, everyone can make a great week and it’s a question of consistency after that.”
Medvedev is chasing his fourth title of the year and fifth final in a row in Miami, after victories in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai and a defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells final.
The Russian will face Karen Khachanov in the semi-finals, while Jannik Sinner will be up against Alcaraz or Taylor Fritz in the other last-four clash.
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