Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas are on a collision course for the Madrid semifinals, but Medvedev would do well just to advance one more round. The Russian is running into Cristian Garin on Thursday, while Tsitsipas meets Casper Ruud.
(16) Cristian Garin vs. (2) Daniil Medvedev
Medvedev had lost six clay-court matches in a row dating back to the 2019 Barcelona event until he found the win column at the Mutua Madrid Open on Wednesday. The third-ranked Russian got off to a slow start against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and was in a foul mood about the surface, but he recovered to prevail 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Although that may help Medvedev’s confidence to some extent, there still isn’t much to like about his game on clay.
Garin, on the other hand, is the essence of a clay-court specialist. The 25th-ranked Chilean has reached six ATP finals in his career (5-1 record) and all six have come on the slow stuff. So far in Madrid he has ousted Fernando Verdasco and Dominik Koepfer in easy straight sets. Garin lost his only previous meeting with Medvedev in routine fashion at the 2019 Rogers Cup, but the story should be a much different one in these conditions.
Pick: Garin in 2
Casper Ruud vs. (4) Stefanos Tsitsipas
Tsitsipas and Ruud will also be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Thursday. They previously squared off at a 2016 Futures event in Italy, where Tsitsipas took the title following a third-set tiebreaker. Both men are playing the best tennis of their careers five years later, albeit not quite at the same level. Tsitsipas has cemented his status as one of the world’s best, currently at fifth in the rankings with consecutive Grand Slam semifinal showings to his credit. After triumphing in Monte-Carlo and finishing runner-up in Barcelona earlier this spring, the Greek improved to 10-1 on clay in 2021 with a 6-1, 6-2 rout of Benoit Paire on Wednesday.
Ruud has never cracked the top 20, but he will have a chance to do so with one more win in Madrid. The 22-year-old Norwegian is 14-5 this season (9-3 on clay) following victories this week over Felix Auger-Aliassime and Yoshihito Nishioka. However, he lost to Carlos Alcaraz 6-2, 6-4 in Marbella and to Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1, 6-2 in Munich. Such inconsistency suggests Ruud probably isn’t ready to compete with an opponent who looks like one of Rafael Nadal’s biggest French Open threats.
Pick: Tsitsipas in 2
Medevedev is still number 2 in the world and competes at a different level top 20 players. Medvedev can win.
Ruud could cause problems for Tsitsi because he will be getting tired mentally and Rudd looks to be peaking atm.
Put simply, I doubt these will be 2-0 victories.
Med in 3; Tpas in 2.
Wrong. The favorites lost. Surprise Stephanos Tsp lost.
Med going out
Yes but no 2-0
2-0 against the number 2 player in the world was a tad unfair, even on clay.
Meddy is not the #2. Winning Barcelona gave that back to Rafa! (Of course with the covid rankings it’s still hard to tell what’s what).
You’re nitpicking over specifics that don’t change the key point.
but I guess you already knew this.
Ethics comes before trying to win every time. Another concept your country needs to learn.
Yep, right all along.
Tsitsipas obviously tired and saving himself for Rome