Medvedev powers past Sonego at Monte-Carlo, Zverev next

Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No 3 seed, won against Italian wildcard Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the last 16 of the Monte-Carlo Masters at Monte-Carlo Country Club on Wednesday.

Medvedev wasn’t quite sure to make of his performance after the match.

“On clay it’s much more difficult for me to feel the game,” Medvedev said. “After the match, it’s difficult for me to say if I played well or not, but I was told I played well, and the score was okay with me.

“I felt in control during the match. I’m very happy. This makes me confident for the next match. It’s going to be a tough one. It’s going to be a big test against Zverev, so I’m happy today.”

The Russian has now won 25 of his last 26 matches on tour, as he improves to 30-3 on the year. Though he is just 19-23 lifetime on clay, Medvedev believes that his confidence from the fine run of play that netted him titles in Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai and Miami will carry him on any surface.

“It’s completely different on clay, but confidence is confidence,” said the world No 5. “I hope to bring this confidence even further.”

Medvedev, ranked No 5, will play German Alexander Zverev, the No 13 seed, next.

In the previous round of the Monte-Carlo tournament, Sonego, ranked No 45, edged out French qualifier Ugo Humbert (3-6, 7-5, 7-5).

Monte-Carlo Masters, other second-round results (Monte-Carlo Country Club, clay, EUR 5.779.335, most recent results first):

• Dominic Thiem vs. Holger Rune
• Francisco Cerundolo vs. Matteo Berrettini
• Taylor Fritz vs. Stan Wawrinka: wednesday
• Karen Khachanov (9) beat Ilya Ivashka (Q): 7-6 (2), 6-2
• Jannik Sinner (7) beat Diego Schwartzman: 6-0, 3-1 ret.
• Jiri Lehecka beat Grigor Dimitrov: 7-6 (4), 6-4
• Lorenzo Musetti (16) beat Luca Nardi (Q): 6-0, 6-0
• Nicolas Jarry beat Alexei Popyrin (Q): 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
• Casper Ruud (4) beat Botic van de Zandschulp: 7-5, 7-6 (1)
• Jan-Lennard Struff (Q) beat Alex De Minaur (14): 6-3, 6-2
• Alexander Zverev beat Roberto Bautista Agut: 6-4, 6-4
• Stefanos Tsitsipas (2) beat Benjamin Bonzi: 4-1 ret.
• Hubert Hurkacz (10) beat Jack Draper: 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-5
• Novak Djokovic (1) beat Ivan Gakhov (Q): 7-6 (5), 6-2
• Andrey Rublev (5) beat Jaume Munar: 4-6, 6-2, 6-2