Medvedev, Tsitsipas stop in the quarterfinals of Monte Carlo Masters

More than half a day off after a three-hour and eight-minute match against Alexander Zverev seemed too little for Medvedev. The Russian tennis player was out of breath before junior Holger Rune, who reached the quarterfinals of Roland Garros last year. Rune dominated both in attack and defense, to force Medvedev to receive his second defeat in the last 28 matches.

The aggressive attack style helped the 19-year-old player win 6-3 in the first set. In the second set, when the strength in the forehand and backhand decreased, Rune showed top defense as well as stable net. The Danish player took the lead in the opponent's hinge game, to win 6-4.

Runes won 10 and lost eight matches against top 10 competitors in the world, reaching a rate of 56%. Among contemporary tennis players, Rune ranks sixth in this ratio, when counting top 10 winners from 10 matches or more. The leader is Novak Djokovic (75%), followed by Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal (both 70%).

In the last six tournaments, Medvedev has lost only two games, to Alcaraz in Indian Wells and Rune in Monte Carlo. Those are also two rare matches where he let the opponent win over 70% of the points they were in attack. In the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters, Rune won 78% of his points in attack.

Rune's opponent in the second round of the Masters 1000 semi-finals is Jannik Sinner. The Italian player won 6-2, 6-2 against compatriot Lorenzo Musetti - who eliminated Novak Djokovic in the third round. Sinner became the only semi-finalist at all three Masters 1000 tournaments since the start of the year.

Taylor Fritz, one of three quarter-finalists at all three Masters 1000 this year, continued to impress as he knocked Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-4. Tsitsipas' streak of 12 wins in a row in Monte Carlo was halted, as the opponent played with power and did not give the Greek player many opportunities to attack from the forehand. The first win over Tsitsipas sent Fritz into the semi-finals against Andrey Rublev, the phenomenal winner of Jan-Lennard Struff 6-1, 7-6(5).