By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday May 1, 2023
Daniil Medvedev rallied from a break down in the third set twice to prevail on a warm Madrid Monday.
Photo Source: Getty
When Alexander Shevchenko broke Daniil Medvedev’s serve in the first game of Monday’s tussle, it marked the first time that Medvedev had been broken in Madrid.
The former World No.1 eased past Andrea Vavassori in his first match, but his third-round encounter with a compatriot would be of far different character.
Medvedev did eventually emerge, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5, but not without complications. The No.2 seed was down by a break in the third set not once but twice, but eventually won the final three games to close the books on the 96th-ranked qualifier in two hours and 43 minutes.
It was a milestone victory for Medvedev, who earns his 300th ATP win against just 122 losses.
228 of the Russian’s 300 wins, and his lone Grand Slam triumph, have come since the start of the 2019 season.
But success on clay has been fleeting for the Russian, and it almost was again today. Shevchenko jumped out to a 5-1 lead before claiming the opening set, 6-4. Medvedev pushed back but he was in dire straits in a tense decider, before coming through to improve to 4-1 on the clay in 2023.
Shevchenko has acquitted himself brilliantly in Madrid, earning wins over JJ Wolf and Jiri Lehecka to reach the third round at a Masters 1000 event for the first time.
Credit Medvedev for solving the issues at hand, despite early struggles.
“I feel like I played pretty well in the second and third sets, and maybe the end of the first,“ Medvedev, who improved to a tour-leading 33-4 on the season, said. “The thing about clay, usually it is tough for me to start matches for whatever reason. I need a lot of time to get used to everything that is happening on the court.”
Medvedev also leads the ATP Tour with four titles in 2023.
He has never won a title on clay however; Medvedev improved to 22-24 lifetime on the surface with Monday’s win. He will face another compatriot, Aslan Karatsev in the round of 16. The pair have split their previous two meetings with Karatsev taking the match on clay, 6-2, 6-4 in the third round at Rome in 2021.