Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 10, 2023 Russia's Daniil Medvedev celebrate after winning his fourth round match following the retirement of Czech Republic's Jiri Lehecka REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
LONDON (Reuters) -Third seed Daniil Medvedev reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time on Monday when his fourth-round opponent Jiri Lehecka retired injured after losing the first two sets 6-4 6-2.
Medvedev, a former U.S. Open champion, has played four Grand Slam finals but has always struggled at Wimbledon.
"I knew that Wimbledon was so far my worst Grand Slam in terms of going far so I'm really happy to be in the quarters here," the Russian said, adding that he had, however, always enjoyed success on Court One.
Lehecka, 21, who had played a four-hour five-set match against Tommy Paul in the last round, took a timeout after the first set while a trainer treated blisters on his right foot.
The Czech, who produced 33 unforced errors in the match, struggled on through the second set but Medvedev broke his serve twice and was untroubled on his own.
"I feel sorry for Jiri because fourth round at Wimbledon, to get hurt it's not easy," Medvedev, 27, said. "Hopefully he can recover fast and he has a lot more Grand Slams ahead of him."
The former world number one did not play at Wimbledon last year because of the ban on Russian competitors following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which Russia calls a 'special military operation'.
"It's my fifth Wimbledon and I was not very successful but I've never lost on Court One so I feel sorry that I probably for the quarters am going to play on Centre Court," the genial Medvedev said.
"I'm like, can I just continue here? I love it. I never lost so far here. I'm really happy and looking forward to my next match. Hopefully I can give 100%."
(Reporting by Clare Lovell; Editing by Ken Ferris)
