Monte Carlo Masters 2019: Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Daniil Medvedev – Match preview and prediction
The Monte Carlo Masters 2019 is all set for some tight encounters in the coming days as the tournament is slowly picking up pace. There are a few potential line-ups in the third round and one such face-off will be between the rising Russian Daniil Medvedev and the Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas.
But, why does this match attract so much attention? The reason -- in all the three matches they played against each other, they were involved in some feisty rallies and if the scores of those matches were anything to go by, this match in Monte Carlo will be even more intense than those three encounters.
Also, this will be the first time they will be playing on clay and this will light up the excitement surrounding this match-up. Adding to their on-court performances against each other, there was an altercation between them in the first round of 2018 Miami Open. Some words were exchanged between the two and the umpire had to intervene after the match to settle things out.
But in the two matches they played after their altercation, the quality of tennis had only improved as it was always a challenge between the aggressor and the defender.
In their first encounter which was in the first round of Miami Open last year, Medvedev lost the first set to Tsitsipas but came back strongly in the second set with only one break of serve to take it 6-4.
Medvedev won 79 points in the entire match whereas Tsitsipas won 78 and this shows the amount of intensity that they had whenever they play.
Even in the second round of the US Open which was yet another thriller between the two, Tsitsipas saved four break points in the first set before losing the fifth one to the Russian who eventually took the first set 6-4.
But, Medvedev was the better of the two as he kept his cool when Tsitsipas was getting regularly frustrated with his choice of shots in the second set as Medvedev won the set 6-3.
Tsitsipas took the third set by a whisker 6-4 but lost eventually in the fourth to the Russian with the score of 3-6.
Their last encounter happened in Swiss Indoors and this also was a tough one where once again Medvedev had a slight advantage over the Greek as he showed better temperament than Tsitsipas. He won the match 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
The surface in Monte Carlo suits Medvedev better as he is looking in great touch with comfortable wins over Joao Sousa and Radu Albot whereas Tsitsipas's aggressive playing style did land him the victory today against Mikhail Kukushkin but it remains to be seen how this playing style will pan out against Daniil Medvedev who likes to hit more from the baseline.
All in all, the fans in Monte Carlo are in for an exciting roller coaster ride tomorrow as two potential future greats are all set to lock horns for the fourth time in their career and for the first time on clay.
Match Prediction : Daniil Medvedev wins in three sets.