Medvedev Saves 2 MPs, Passes Zverev Test In Monte-Carlo

Daniil Medvedev survived a dramatic late-night marathon against Alexander Zverev on Thursday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, where the third seed rallied to a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(7) third-round victory.

Zverev served for the match at 5-4 in both the second and third sets and let slip two match points in the deciding-set tie-break on Court Rainier III, but he was unable to see off the ever-persistent Medvedev. A closely fought contest, during which both men produced high-quality play but struggled to do so consistently, was ultimately decided when Medvedev remained the more solid in the closing moments.

Medvedev trailed 5/6 and 6/7 in the deciding-set tie-break but Zverev errors on both points cost the German dear. Medvedev reeled off three points in a row to complete the win and reach the Monte-Carlo quarter-finals for the second time.

“That was a crazy match,” said Medvedev. “He served two times for the match, he probably should have done better, but that is also clay courts. I tried to watch a lot of tennis before playing this tournament, and one thing that I saw is you can come back at any moment. The serve doesn’t count as much, so as soon as someone gets a little bit tight, the match can turn around in one second. That’s what I managed to do.”

[ATP APP]

Both players enjoyed plenty of success on return in a topsy-turvy third-round encounter. Zverev broke Medvedev’s serve six times, but the World No. 5 converted six of 13 of his own break points en route to a three-hour, five-minute victory and increase his ATP Head2Head series lead against the German to 8-6.

Medvedev is now 31-3 for the season, having won 26 of his past 27 tour-level matches. The 27-year-old is chasing his maiden title on clay this week in Monte-Carlo, and Thursday’s win against Zverev represents his first win against a Top 20 opponent on the surface since he beat Kei Nishikori in Barcelona in 2019.

His opponent in the last eight will be Holger Rune. The 19-year-old Dane advanced to his maiden Monte-Carlo quarter-final after Matteo Berrettini, was forced to withdraw from the pair’s third-round clash due to an oblique injury.