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Four of the top six on the men's tour have
skipped Miami, and with the exit of the Russian top seed on
Wednesday there are no players with a Masters 1000 title left in
the draw.
Medvedev, who replaced Rafa Nadal as No. 2 last month, went into
the quarter-final with a 17-2 win-loss record for the season but
had lost to the experienced Spaniard in their two previous
career meetings.
And there was no third time lucky for the Russian, with seventh
seed Bautista Agut sealing the win in 92 minutes.
"To beat Daniil in two sets, it's because I played great
tennis," the 32-year-old Spaniard told reporters. "I was very
solid and I could play with a lot of rhythm, make him work a
lot.
"Physically I felt well on the court. It was a very tight first
set. Well, it was a great match from my side."
After eight tight games in the opening set, Bautista Agut nudged
ahead with a service break for 5-4, leaving Medvedev to smash
his racquet in frustration.
The Spaniard, who will face 19-year-old Jannik Sinner for a
place in Sunday's final, did not look back from there.
"I was very focused on me, on the things I had to do on the next
game," he said. "Of course if he broke the racquet, it's because
he lost his patience.
"I think I did some great things to put him under pressure and
to (make him) feel like this."
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Peter
Rutherford)
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