Medvedev, Ruud and Zverev advance to next round

(Monte-Carlo) Daniil Medvedev made short work of Lorenzo Sonego, ousting him 6-3, 6-2, allowing him to qualify for the round of 16 at the Monte-Carlo Tennis Masters. Carl.

The Russian has been invincible lately; he has won 25 of his last 26 encounters en route to claiming four titles. Additionally, the tournament’s third seed improved his career record to 2-0 against the Italian, having capitalized on his retirement at the Adelaide 1 tournament earlier this year.

“I am happy with my quality of play, mentioned Medvedev, winner at the Miami Masters. I had fun. They say it takes time to find the rhythm on clay. But precisely, I find that there is no rhythm. Even when you have the right timing, you may be surprised by a false bounce. We must make do. »

This victory acquired after one hour and 28 minutes on the Monegasque clay court thus set the table for a duel in the next round against the German Alexander Zverev. The 13^e The tournament’s top seed beat Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4 earlier on Wednesday.

“I think it’s the first time we’ll meet on clay,” said Medvedev, who is 7-6 in his career against the German. We have always fought great battles, and we know each other well. It’s going to be interesting. »

Elsewhere, Casper Ruud worked hard before beating Botic van de Zandschulp 7-5, 7-6 (1) in the second round.

Ruud, the tournament’s fourth seed, sweated profusely for two hours and 15 minutes on Monaco clay before overcoming the Dutchman, 31^e racket in the world. This victory also allowed him to narrow the gap in their career duels to 3-2.

The Norwegian, who was a finalist at the French Open last year, proved to be slightly more efficient than his opponent on serve. Moreover, he was a little more opportunistic than his rival. Ruud was thus broken four times in eight occasions, while van de Zandschulp gave up his serve five times in 13 opportunities.

Ruud, who won the Estoril tournament earlier this year, will now face Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in the round of 16. The latter obtained his ticket for the next round after having surprised the 14^e seeded Australian Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-2.

“It’s never easy to start a new tournament, against a player against whom I have already lost before, recalled Ruud, who lost to his Dutch opponent in Miami last month. Sometimes it’s difficult to face a player who recently beat you, but in this case I’m happy because I felt like I didn’t give my all in our last game in Miami . »

After struggling with his consistency at the start of the season, after enjoying a stunning campaign in 2022, Ruud has found his bearings on his favored surface.

“It was wonderful last week in Estoril,” admitted Ruud. I was very comfortable. Today was a good game at times, but I also looked a little rusty. The fact remains that I can draw a lot of positive points (from this match) to build my game for the rest of the tournament. »

Among the other winners on Wednesday are the Italians Jannik Sinner (no 7) and Lorenzo Musetti (no 16), the Russian Karen Khachanov (no 9), as well as the Chilean Nicolas Jarry and the Czech Jiri Lehecka. Musetti will have an appointment in the next round with the Serbian Novak Djokovic, world No. 1.

Dane Holger Rune (no 6) and American Taylor Fritz (no 8) also triumphed at the end of the program, as did Italian Matteo Berrettini, who beat Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo 5-7, 7-6 (1 ) and 6-4.

Rafael Nadal, world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and Quebec’s Félix Auger-Aliassime (No. 7) have all skipped this tournament.

The Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas is the double defending champion of the event.