Djokovic drubbed by Medvedev, Nadal survives a scare

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At the ongoing Monte Carlo Masters, 10th-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev upset world number one Novak Djokovic 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the quarter-finals to hand the Serb his third early exit in the last six weeks, after third and fourth round defeats at Indian Wells and Miami.

Medvedev had lost each of his previous three matches against Djokovic but came out firing on all cylinders to lead 2-0 early in the opening set.

Nole closed the gap to 3-2 soon but failed to stop the Russian from winning the set, 6-3. Djoker, however, battled back in the second set. The 31-year-old then continued to find his rhythm in his first clay court event of the season. A forehand down the line soon put Djokovic well on his way to claim the set, 6-4.

But Medvedev dominated the decider, leaving the top seed desperate to prolong the action. Both players worked the baseline furiously until the 23-year-old came up with a backhand that fell just inside the line to wrap up the set as well as the match.

The world number 10 Russian will now meet another Serb, Dusan Lajovic, in the last four.

After winning the three-setter and sending the world number one packing, Medvedev said, "It's definitely the best match of my career, not in terms of the level of tennis, but definitely by the result. First Master's 1000 semi-final, beating number one for the first time in my life, just amazing."

After failing to make the cut to the semi-final, a seemingly dejected Djokovic mentioned, "Well, yeah, for sure the French Open is the ultimate goal on clay. I hope I can... for sure it's expected in a way for me to peak right at that tournament ... because that's what I'm aiming for. This is only the first tournament on clay. It's a long season, so let's see how it goes."

Nadal storms into semi-final

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates his victory over Guido Pella of Argentina during the ATP Monte Carlo Masters in Monte Carlo, Monaco, April 19, 2019. /VCG Photo

Meanwhile, world number two from Spain Rafael Nadal overcame Argentina's Guido Pella 7-6, 6-3 to book a match against Fabio Fognini of Italy in the semi-final. Interestingly, Nadal too was in danger of being upset by Pella and was one point away from trailing 5-1, before turning around the sixth game of the first set.

The former world number one, however, surged back to force a tiebreaker, which he dominated and put away with a powerful overhead smash. Even after matching his famed rival by shot-to-shot, the Argentine double-faulted on match point to lose the second set 6-3.

That sent the 11-time winner of this event on the French Riviera into the last four in straight sets, where the King of Clay with meet Italy's Fognini in order to seek a 13th trip to the championship final.

(With agency input)