Medvedev’s hysterical breakdown in Monte Carlo: he smashed everything

Completely off his game in his Monte-Carlo debut this Wednesday, Daniil Medvedev collapsed completely during the second set. Broken by his opponent, Matteo Berrettini, after losing the first set 6-0, the Russian destroyed his racket on several occasions. A gesture that cost him a warning from the umpire, and showed all his difficulty on clay. The Roman did not take pity and even in the second set he scrambled his rival with a new 6-0.

A result as surprising as it was clear, especially in light of the precedents between the two: all three head-to-head matches played previously had been in favor of the Russian, who had not lost to Berrettini since as far back as 2018. The last direct confrontation was even four years ago, with Medvedev always able to prevail. This time, however, the Roman completely turned the predictions upside down, leaving just zero games to his opponent throughout the entire match.

Berrettini himself, at the end of the match, did not hide his surprise for such a high level performance: “It was a strange match, I did not expect to play so well and I did not expect him to struggle so much, it was one of the best matches of my life. I suffered in the first game, but then I didn’t expect to win so clearly. I tried to keep my concentration high and not get distracted by what was happening on the other side of the court.” The Roman added, “In the second set he served with new balls, I was good and I broke serve right away and relaxed completely. The reality is that I need matches like these, I just need some time and confidence.”

For Berrettini, present at the tournament in the Principality thanks to a wild card and current world number 90, this is a victory of enormous value also in terms of ranking: the Capitoline tennis player overcame an opponent who had steadily returned to the Top 10, who in previous weeks had reached the final in Indian Wells, beating along the way precisely Carlos Alcaraz. The success confirms that Berrettini, when he is able to express his best tennis, can still compete at the highest level.

The Monte-Carlo knockout comes amidst a moment of ups and downs for Medvedev: after the excellent Indian Wells final, the Russian had already run into disappointment in Miami, where he was eliminated in the third round by Francisco Cerundolo in three sets. The clay, a historically hostile surface for the Muscovite, seems to further accentuate his difficulties, as witnessed by today’s nervous reaction on Court Ranieri III.