Daniil Medvedev

Montecarlo. The Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev, world number 6 and champion of the tournament last year, lost in his debut at the Monte Carlo Masters 1000, on a day in which the Italian Jannik Sinner number 2) qualified with solvency for the next round .

Rublev lost to Australian Alexei Popyrin (number 46) by a double 6-4.

In the next round, Popyrin, who has never gone beyond the second round in the Principality, will face his compatriot Alex De Miñaur (number 11), who defeated the Dutch Tallon Griekspoor (number 26) by 2-6, 6-2 and 6-3.

Popyrin led 3-1 in the first set, a lead he maintained until winning the first set.

In the second set, Popyrin achieved the break in the ninth game to go 5-4 and serve to close the match.

Rublev still had a chance to make it 5-5 and extend the match, but he made a mistake at the net and ended up giving up the crown.

Warning Djokovic

The day went better for the other great star of Russian tennis, Daniil Medvedev (number 4), who entered the tournament with a calm 6-2 and 6-4 over the 37-year-old French veteran Gael Monfils (number 40 ).

“It was a difficult match, so I am happy to have won and to be in the next round. It is not easy to go on the attack against Gael, they defend very well,” said Medvedev.

Sinner, the most fit tennis player on the circuit in recent months, also went unceremoniously, who dispatched the American Sebastian Korda (number 27) in two sets (6-1 and 6-2), in just an hour and a quarter of the match.

In this way, the Italian, who in the next round will face the German veteran Jan-Lennard Struff (number 25), responded to the other great favorite for victory, Novak Djokovic, who the day before defeated the Russian by the same result. Roman Safiulin (number 41).

“It’s always difficult every year to come here and try to perform well, but I’m happy with how the match went. Let’s see now how the next round goes. I didn’t serve very well, but I did subtract very well,” said Sinner. after his victory.

Also this Wednesday, the Italian Lorenzo Sonego (number 57), who entered the main draw after the resignation of the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz (number 3), injured in his right forearm, qualified for the third round after winning 6-4 and 7-5 to Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (number 35).

South America and Spain say goodbye

The Norwegian Casper Ruud (number 10), who disappointed on Saturday by falling in the semifinals of the Estoril tournament (Portugal) against the Spanish Pedro Martínez, began with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over the Chilean Alejandro Tabilo (number 45) .

The Argentine representatives were not lucky: Francisco Cerúndolo (number 22) could not beat the Russian Karen Khachanov (number 17) and lost in three sets 4-6, 6-4 and 6-3, while Tomás Etcheverry (number 31) He had no option against the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (number 12), who defeated him by a resounding score (6-1 and 6-0).

With the eliminations of both Argentines and that of the Chilean Tabilo, the Monte Carlo individual team was now left without South American representatives.

Spanish will not be spoken in the round of 16 of Monte Carlo, since Spain’s last trump card, Roberto Bautista (90th), also lost this Wednesday in the second round, in his case standing up, falling 7-5 and 7-6 (7/4) against the Polish Hubert Hurkacz (8th), recent champion of Estoril and who is progressing on clay, a surface where in the past he had discreet results.

The last two matches on Wednesday were interrupted by rain and will be finished on Thursday: in the first of them, the Danish Holger Rune (number 7) partially dominated the Indian Sumit Nagal (number 93) 6-3, 2-1, while Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (number 9) was ahead of Croatian Miomir Kecmanovic (number 66) 6-4, 2-1. The final winners of these two matches will have to play their round of 16 matches hours later.