By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday April 13, 2023
Daniil Medvedev battled past Alexander Zverev in dramatic fashion on Thursday night in Monte-Carlo.
Photo Source: TTV
Daniil Medvedev isn’t known for his clay-court prowess, but he is known for his fight, and on Thursday evening in Monte-Carlo it was the latter that enabled him to steer past Alexander Zverev in a dramatic three-set battle that lasted three hours and five minutes and featured two match points for the German.
Zverev also served for the match twice – once in the second set and again in the third – but Medvedev never stopped believing, and eventually he was able to come through in a final set tiebreak, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(7).
“That was a crazy match. I mean he served two times for the match, so probably should have done better but that's also clay courts,” Medvedev said.
Medvedev, who earned his first Top 20 win on clay since 2019, says he has done a lot of scouting the clay-court game lately, and one thing he has learned is that things can change on a dime.
Perhaps that was why he was so calm under pressure.
“I tried to watch a lot of tennis before playing this tournament and everything I saw is that you can come back any moment, serve doesn’t count as much, so as soon as someone gets a little bit tight, the match can turn around in one second and that's what I managed to do – was a crazy, crazy match,” he said.
It was also a dramatic match. Medvedev got into it with some fans who were whistling at him when he asked umpire Carlos Bernardes to look at a mark in the clay. He didn’t like their behavior and he told Bernardes that he wasn’t going to play until they piped down.
“I was just talking to the referee about the mark,” he later said, adding: “Some people start [whistling]’. I'm like ‘Okay, I'm not gonna play until you guys shut up because I just discussed the mark there is nothing to [whistle] about.
Medvedev nearly blew a 5-2 lead in the final set tiebreak, as Zverev reeled off four points on the trot to get to match point at 6-5 (with Medvedev serving). The German had another one two points later (on his own serve), but could not earn his first Top 10 win since returning from ankle surgery earlier this season.
The former World No.2 appears to be steadily regaining his top form, but lacks that essential finishing touch. He has now lost to Medvedev from a set up twice in two months.
Medvedev, a winner of 26 of his last 27 matches, improves to 31-3 on the season, and 8-6 vs. Zverev. He will face Danish teen Holger Rune in the semifinals on Friday. It’s a difficult matchup for Medvedev but the Russian believes if he can continue to play well he will have a shot.
“He's an amazing player who practiced many times,” he said. “I remember the first time in ATP finals, when he was still a junior he was sparring there. Then a lot of the times in Mouratoglou Academy and we've practiced a lot on clay. I don't think I ever won a set, but I was playing good today. So I hope to show this good tennis tomorrow.”