Medvedev Out After Losing To Karatsev In Incident-Filled Match As Zhang Defeats Fritz
Daniil Medvedev was outclassed by his compatriot Aslan Karatsev in their last-16 clash at the Madrid Open. Medvedev hit 12 winners in a match where he complained to the umpire about the crowd and to a match supervisor about the lack of space at the back of the court. Karatsev has booked a Masters quarter-final spot for the first time and will play Zhang Zhizhen next after he beat Taylor Fritz.
World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev has gone out of the Madrid Open at the round of 16 stage after losing to compatriot Aslan Karatsev 7-6(1) 6-4.
Medvedev at one point refused to keep playing until the crowd were told to stop booing him in the first set tie-break.
World No. 121 Karatsev, who reached the Australian Open semi-finals in 2021, will play China’s Zhang Zhizhen in his maiden quarter-final appearance at an ATP Masters tournament.
Reflecting on getting a win against a top-10 opponent for the first time since he beat Medvedev in 2021, Karatsev said: “You have to be 100 per cent [to beat Medvedev]. He doesn’t give you any free points.
“You have to be mentally tough so I think I’m doing well.
“I struggled last year but I’ve improved in the middle of this year. I’m really happy with my game so we’ll see what’s going on.”
There were a flurry of breaks early in the opening set. Medvedev converted his second break point to go 2-1 up before Karatsev instantly broke back to restore parity.
Medvedev continued to pile pressure on the Karatsev serve and particularly his backhand, but he was unable to convert the next two break points he earned at 3-3.
Both players improved on their own service games and fought to a tie-break. Medvedev was booed by the crowd after he whacked a ball into a sponsor board at 4-1 down.
Initially he refused to play on until umpire Carlos Bernardes told the crowd to be quiet before deciding to get back onto his side of the court after a small delay. Karatsev went on to win the tie-break 7-1.
There was another delay at the end of the second set as Medvedev complained to the match supervisor because there was not enough space at the back of the court.
Once the second set did eventually commence Medvedev was evidently still affected by the crowd as well as Karatsev’s aggressive groundstrokes from the baseline.
Karatsev took advantage with the decisive break, making it 3-2 thanks to an unforced error off Medvedev’s forehand.
Even with a distracted Medvedev on the other side of the court, Karatsev maintained his composure to see out the second set.
His 17th forehand winner brought him two match points and he converted the first one to book his place in the quarter-finals for the first time.
ZHANG BEATS FRITZ IN THRILLER
No. 10 seed Taylor Fritz has gone out after losing to Zhang 3-6 7-6(5) 7-6(8) in a dramatic contest at Arantxa Sanchez Stadium.
Fritz squandered three match points in a tense tie-break decider before Zhang converted his second one to become the first Chinese man to reach the quarter-finals of a Masters tournament.
Andrey Rublev has also gone out in Madrid after a 7-6(8) 6-4 defeat to Karen Khachanov.
Rublev had won seven Masters matches in a row before playing Khachanov, including a title-winning run to Monte Carlo, but he could not find a way past the No. 10 seed who recorded his first top-10 win on clay since 2019.
Khachanov will play world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz who convincingly beat Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
Lucky loser Daniel Altmaier is also through to the a Masters quarter-final for the first time in his career after he beat Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-3 6-0.
He will take on Borna Coric after the Croatian beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(5) in a match which lasted three hours and 27 minutes.
A second lucky loser, Jan-Lennard Struff, is also through to the last-eight following a 7-6(7) 6-7(7) 6-3 victory over Pedro Cachin.
