Daniil Medvedev secured a spot in the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time on Monday as Czech player Jiri Lehecka was forced to retire due to injury at the end of the second set in their fourth-round match. The third seed, competing in his fifth Wimbledon appearance, held a 6-4, 6-2 lead on Court 1 when the 21-year-old Lehecka retired. With the victory that lasted 80 minutes, Medvedev notched his Tour-leading 45th win of the season.

I honestly didn’t know until he retired

Danil Medvedev – “I honestly didn’t know until he retired,” Medvedev revealed. “I noticed that his movement was a bit restricted, but based on how he was striking the ball, I didn’t think it would trouble him much. But when he retired, I realized it was different. Unfortunately, during a match, you don’t have any other choice but to fight for every point because there have been instances, even with me, where you feel injured, but then you win a game, break serve, and get back into the match. You start thinking, ‘Maybe I should keep playing,’ and then you win the match.”

fight until the last point

“You have to fight until the last point, and of course, I feel sorry for Jiri because getting injured in the fourth round of Wimbledon is not easy. Hopefully, he can recover quickly, and he certainly has many more Grand Slams ahead of him.”

aiming for his second major title

Medvedev, aiming for his second major title after winning the US Open in 2021, will continue his Wimbledon campaign against either fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or American Christopher Eubanks.

By reaching the quarterfinals, the 27-year-old Russian becomes the 10th active player to advance to the quarterfinals in all four Grand Slam tournaments. He has previously reached the final at the Australian Open twice and the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in 2021.

my fifth or sixth Wimbledon

“The thing is, this is probably my fifth or sixth Wimbledon, and I haven’t been very successful, but I’ve never lost on this court,” Medvedev remarked. “I’m a bit sorry that I’ll probably play on Centre Court in the quarterfinals. I’m thinking, ‘Can I just continue here? I love it, and I’ve never lost here so far.’ I’m really happy and looking forward to the next match. I’ll give 100 percent.”

the match primarily featured long baseline exchanges

Danil Medvedev – In their first-ever meeting, the match primarily featured long baseline exchanges. Lehecka displayed clean ball-striking and aimed to push Medvedev deep with his shots, but the World No. 3 made few errors and served impressively, winning 97 percent (28/29) of points behind his first serve.

Lehecka, who defeated Tommy Paul in a five-set battle in the third round, appeared fatigued during his match against Medvedev and received a medical timeout at the end of the first set. Although falling just one match short of reaching his second major quarterfinal (Australian Open 2023), the runner-up of the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals leaves London ranked No. 32 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.