ATP Monte Carlo: Daniil Medvedev shocked Djokovic!
Daniil Medvedev caused a surprise in the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters tournament: The 23-year-old Russian defeated the world number one Novak Djokovic 6: 3, 4: 6, 6: 2 and is thus in the semifinals.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Apr 19, 2019, 04:23 pm
Djokovic was mostly in set one - under rather windy conditions - pretty much beside himself: he made 21 unforced mistakes, only 3 winners. Above all, the forehand caused massive problems for the Djoker - just like a clever and stable offensive opponent.
The turning point in sentence two when Djokovic used the stop several times after grueling baseline duels and Medvedev sometimes unnecessarily vedaddled. Djokovic denied a break chance for the early leadership of the world rankings-14. and used his third chance to 2: 1, which he transported to the sentence equalization.
Medvedev struck for victory
In set three, Medvedev got the first break to 3: 1, and made the preliminary decision to 5: 1, despite problems on the left thigh, which he had massaged several times during the breaks.
Djokovic breached again, but then lost his service again - Medvedev used his first match ball with a fine backhand along the line.
Djokovic made 47 unconditional mistakes (27 with the forehand), with 23 direct points. Medvedev's balance, however, was positive: 25 winners with 21 Unforced Errors.
The question marks surrounding Djokovic remain: After his outstanding victory at the Australian Open against Rafael Nadal , he lost in round three in Indian Wells (against Philipp Kohlschreiber) and in the round of 16 in Miami (against Roberto Bautista Agut).
In Monte Carlo, the Djoker had won in three contested sets against Kohlschreiber, after which he defeated Taylor Fritz.
Medvedev turns its balance sheet
Medvedev, on the other hand, plays the sand week of his life: he started Monte Carlo with a 2:11 record on tour level on red ash and a 1: 11 record against the top 10 overall. This week he is now 4-0 sand wins and two wins against top 10 players after he already eliminated Stefanos Tsitsipas on Thursday.
"Djokovic has played worse than in the previous matches I've had against him. And I've become more experienced. The top boys feel that it has become more difficult against me," said Medvedev, who had lost to Djokovic in Melbourne. "He was at his best at the time, but I let him work for his win. And I knew that if I held this level, I would have a chance of winning."
Djokovic was at least worried on the outside. In Roland Garros he wanted to be at the top level, Monte Carlo was his first clay court tournament, under difficult conditions - he still had enough time to improve.
Thiem Vanquisher Lajovic in the semi-finals
At noon, Dusan Lajovic had already reached his first semi-final in a Masters tournament. Dominic Thiem's conqueror beat Italian qualifier Lorenzo Sonego 6: 4, 7: 5. He will play against Medvedev for the final in the final on Saturday.