Third seed Daniil Medvedev thrashed Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 6-3 6-2 in the second round of the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday. Medvedev will face former-world #2 Alexander Zverev in the third round on Thursday. Wednesday’s match was over within a couple of hours with Medvedev was decidedly the superior player. But what were the keys to the Russian’s comprehensive win?
Daniil Medvedev won the battle from baseline:
Medvedev was off to a flying start by winning the first three games of the match. He could have won the fourth as well, but Sonego managed to get on the board by holding his serve after fending off break points. It made little difference to the outcome of the set, however, with Medvedev holding on to his lead to win the first set easily. The Russian won most of the baseline exchanges with clinical and accurate play from the baseline.
Sonego looked to disrupt his opponent by rushing the net frequently and he did manage to win a few points with some forceful volleys. However, the tactic was perhaps more of a reflection of his struggles from the baseline than any great faith in his abilities in the forecourt with Medvedev dominating the baseline exchanges.
Medvedev turned on the heat in the second set:
Medvedev went one better in the second set, breaking the Italian twice. He raced to a 4-1 lead, as Sonego hit an overhead smash wide on match point in the fifth game, a mistake he simply could not afford to make. The Russian was largely untroubled in holding on to the lead as he finished the match off.
Sonego looked to run around his backhand repeatedly, but lost court position in the process and he did not do enough damage with his inside-out forehands. He also struggled from the line, winning only 56% of the points behind his first serve in a match. Medvedev, on the other hand, won a staggering 90% of the points on his first delivery. That was one of several differences between the two on the day.
Main photo credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
