Monte Carlo Masters: Medvedev gets past Zverev; Sinner advances to last eight

Among other results, German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff upset fourth-seeded Capser Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Nicolas Jarry.

Daniil Medvedev advanced to the quarterfinals at Monte Carlo for only the second time in his career. | Photo Credit: AFP

Third-seed Daniil Medvedev saved two match points in the deciding-set tiebreaker to rally past Alexander Zverev 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7).

Medvedev advanced to the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo for the second time and will next face Holger Rune. The sixth-seeded Rune advanced without playing when Matteo Berrettini withdrew due to an injury.

The seventh-seeded Sinner came from behind and saved a match point to get past No. 10-seeded Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1.

Sinner trailed by a set and a break then came out on top of a 22-shot rally when down 6-5 in the tiebreaker to remain in the match. Hurkacz lost the next two points and threw his racket in anger, then totally lost his focus in the decider.

“Playing against him, I knew already from the beginning that it was very tough to get into the rhythm,” Sinner said. “I think he served incredible in the first one-and-a-half sets, and when I broke him the first time the momentum changed a little bit.”

German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff took another step in his comeback from an injury as he upset fourth-seeded Casper Ruud 6-1, 7-6 (6).

Having been ranked 29th, Struff dropped as low as No. 168 after sustaining a foot fracture last year during a match in Miami.

Struff has enjoyed a good start to the season and returned to the Top 100 last month but had not beaten anyone in the Top 10 since June 2021. His aggressive style of play resulted in 37 winners and 23 points won at the net against Ruud, who dropped his serve four times.

Struff ended Ruud’s nine-match winning streak on clay. The 2022 French Open runner-up had won his past two tournaments on the surface, in Gstaad last July and in Estoril last week.

Struff will next be up against 2021 runner-up Andrey Rublev, who beat Karen Khachanov 7-6 (4), 6-2 at the Country Club.

“We know each other too well,” Rublev said. “The first set was only mental. We didn’t show some tennis skills. But it was tough to show skills because the wind was really hard and the court was slippery and it was tough to do something.”

Two-time defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Nicolas Jarry 6-3, 6-4.

“I had to deal with a few (tough) points, especially when he had break points,” said Tsitsipas, who next plays eighth-seeded Taylor Fritz. “I dealt with those situations very maturely and played precisely.”