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The Swiss world No. 2 had a first-round bye and
then came out strong in Wednesday's match, which lasted nearly
two hours. He broke Medvedev in the opening game and again to
take a 5-4 lead and serve out the first set.
But in the second, the Russian staved off the only break point
he faced and converted his only break opportunity in the final
game to force a third. Each player saved a break point early in
the third set before Federer broke for a 5-4 lead and served
out.
"It was extremely difficult," Federer, who also won at Shanghai
in 2014, said afterward. "That's why I was very happy at the
end. Was a good fight. I enjoyed it.
"...Credit to him for really hanging tough and making this a
really good match. I had to play some really good tennis at the
end to make the difference."
Federer will next face Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut, who
rallied to beat American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald 3-6, 6-4,
6-1.
Every other seeded player in action Wednesday was victorious,
with Argentine No. 3 Juan Martin del Potro, German No. 4
Alexander Zverev, South African No. 7 Kevin Anderson, Greek No.
10 Stefanos Tsitsipas and British No. 11 Kyle Edmund all
advancing in straight sets.
Del Potro needed nearly two hours to put away Frenchman Richard
Gasquet -- who rained 12 aces and converted his only break
opportunity -- ultimately prevailing 7-5, 7-6 (7).
Zverev also racked up 12 aces, doing so in a 7-5, 6-4 win that
took 91 minutes against Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, who was
coming off of a victory over del Potro in the final in Beijing
last week.
Meanwhile, Japanese No. 8 Kei Nishikori overcame a slow start to
beat China's Yibing Wu 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.
"I was surprised actually in the first set how he played," said
Nishikori, who will next face American Sam Querrey, a 6-3, 6-7
(4), 7-5 winner over countryman Taylor Fritz. "He was playing
very solid. He was hitting good serves, very good forehand and
backhand. Everything was working well.
"...But in the second and third sets, I think I was focused
almost every point. So I was happy with my tennis in the end."
The final seeded player in action, Italian No. 16 Marco
Cecchinato, rallied to beat South Korea's Hyeon Chung 4-6, 7-6
(5), 7-6 (5) in a 2-hour, 34-minute battle. The victory earned
Cecchinato a Round of 16 date with second-seeded Serbian Novak
Djokovic.
--Field Level Media
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