Daniil Medvedev isn't just back a little bit to the form that took him to No. 1 on the ATP; he seems back all the way. He proved as much against Rei Sakamoto in the second round of the Miami Open, but make no mistake: His opponent, Rei Sakamoto, is going to be a force on the tour for a while.
Until the 19-year-old Japanese player ran out of gas beginning late in the second set, he matched the Russian great shot for shot. He even kept his cool in a tense first-set tie-break, eventually overcoming Medvedev 11-9. At that point, Sakamoto appeared ready to announce himself in full to tennis fans.
He couldn't keep up that form for the entire match, and he will learn from that. Plus, Medvedev raised his game in a way that elite players do, especially in terms of his backhand, which Sakamoto had no answer for by the third set.
Daniil Medvedev defeats young Japanese riser Rei Sakamoto at the 2026 Miami Open
After dropping the first set 6-7, the Russian got two breaks in the second set to take it 6-3. The third set wasn't a real contest. Medvedev jumped out to a 4-0 lead, and after Sakamoto was able to stave off the ATP No. 10 in his service game, the Russian held at love to move to 5-1. The outcome of the match was no longer in question.
Fans learned two things from the second-round match, however. One is that Daniil Medvedev is back to being a real threat on hard courts. He has reeled off many titles in his career on the surface, but far his best. He's changed his serve by increasing his jump and has added five inches to the point he hits the ball.
That has increased his first-serve percentage and increased the winning percentage of his service games by five percent. That is a massive difference for a player whose defensive skills have always been elite.
Assuming he continues to play in his same form, he might challenge for the US Open crown later in the year. That would be his second title in New York.
The other part fans learned is that Rei Sakamoto has the forehand and serve to become a very good player on the ATP tour. He needs to work on his conditioning and simply needs successful experience against great players, but he has the raw skills to be a continuous piece of the top 10 eventually.
Medvedev eventually took the third set 6-1. In the third round of the Miami Open, he will face the winner of the Francisco Cerundolo and Thiago Agustin Tirante match.