For a man who does not much care much for clay, Daniil Medvedev has posted some impressive results on the surface. Four years ago, on his last appearance at the Monte Carlo Masters, the Russian world No 5 saw off Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsistsipas, both two-time champions in the principality, to make the semi-finals. Medvedev would go on to reach the final in Barcelona later that month, and two years later he was a quarter-finalist at Roland Garros.
For all his gripes about the red dirt, it is a record that would be the envy of many. The 27-year-old marked his return to Monaco by adding another feather to his clay-court cap in the shape of a dominant 6-3, 6-2 victory over Lorenzo Sonego, an Italian ranked 45th.
Sonego, who saved four match points against the French qualifier Ugo Humbert in the previous round, regards the terre battue as his best surface, an assessment that a title win in Cagliari and a Rome Masters semi-final would seem to endorse. But neither his clay-court pedigree nor the vocal backing of a sizeable Italian contingent, a staple at a venue that lies barely five miles from Italy’s western border, were sufficient to prevent Medvedev from claiming a tour-leading 30th win of the season. Not that the former US Open champion was getting carried away.
“On clay it’s much more difficult for me to feel the game,” said Medvedev, who set the tone for a comfortable afternoon by reeling off the first three games of the contest.
“After the match, it’s difficult for me to say if I played well or not, but I was told I played well, and the score was OK with me. I felt in control during the match. I’m very happy.”
To suggest that Medvedev is warming to a surface he once called “the worst in the world” would be an overstatement, however.
“I don’t like clay, and even if I win matches, I prefer hard courts,” he said. “But I will do everything to win all the matches.”
Medvedev will need to, given that Alexander Zverev awaits in the next round. The German Olympic champion, seeded 13th and twice a semi-finalist in Monte Carlo, defeated Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4. Medvedev has won seven of their 13 meetings, but the pair have never previously met on clay, where Zverev, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros for the past two seasons and former title winner in Madrid and Rome, is by far the more comfortable of the two.
“I remember once I beat him in a final on clay in juniors,” smiled Medvedev. “But it’s going to be a different story [this time]. I saw him in the first two matches, he seemed to be in good shape. So I’m just going to have to be at my best.”
He was not far from his best at times against Sonego, anticipating brilliantly at the net to set up an early break, imposing his authority in the baseline exchanges, and winning 90% of his first-serve points. For all the power and deftness of Sonego’s shot-making, particularly off the forehand side, the Italian’s finest moments came when he was chasing lost causes. He came through an attritional service game to get on the scoreboard for the first time at 1-3, fended off two set points as he served to stay in the first set at 2-5, and fended off a match point in the penultimate game.
But for all Medvedev’s consternation about a surface that forces him to make adjustments to a game that has earned him titles on the hard courts of Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai and Miami this season, Sonego’s rearguard actions were never enough to impede the Russian’s progress for long.
Taylor Fritz, the American eighth seed, earlier defeated former French Open champion Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (12-10), 6-2 to set up a last-16 meeting with Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic, who saw off Grigor Dimitrov 7-6, (7-4) 6-4.
Lorenzo Musetti won his third consecutive 6-0 set at the event with a whitewash win over fellow Italian Luca Nardi. Musetti will face Novak Djokovic, who won his opener against Russian qualifier Ivan Gakhov in straight sets on Tuesday, for a place in the last eight. Djokovic traditionally takes time to hit his stride at the start of the clay-court season, but Musetti dismissed any suggestion that the top seed might be vulnerable.
“He’s still No 1 in the world,” said the Italian, who famously held a two-set lead against Djokovic at the French Open two years ago. “He’s still Novak. So I have to be ready to beat the No 1 in the world, not a guy who needs to prepare the clay season.
“I have to enter the court with the right mentality, with the right mindset to beat the No. 1 in the world, not to beat someone who is preparing for the clay season.”