Tough start: what to expect from Rublev and Medvedev in Monte Carlo

Medvedev and Khachanov played a crazy match, making 17 breaks between the two. Eight for Karen, nine for Daniel, who eventually took this almost three-hour thriller. In the second set, Khachanov was bothered by his back — he called a physiotherapist, but refused painkillers. At the end of the match, Medvedev started having cramps, and with a cramped leg he won two crucial draws. Next, Medvedev will play with Alexander Muller, who watched the Russian battle from the podium. Khachanov won back in the first set with 1:5, in the second with 1:4, in the third with 0:2.

Good friends

In personal meetings, Daniil led Karen 6-2, with their last match taking place in Monte Carlo. A year ago, Khachanov knocked out Medvedev in two sets in the 1/8 finals, but could not beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals. This time, the draw brought the Russians together in the first round. This can be explained by the drop in the ranking. Daniel was seeded only at number nine this time (he was fourth at the last Masters in the principality), Karen was not among the seeds (he was 15th in 2024). Khachanov is not shining this season. He has won two singles matches so far at only one tournament, the Australian Open. After the strange defeat in Melbourne by Alex Mickelsen, the Russian still can't find his game.

Daniel also upsets his fans. Perhaps only in Indian Wells did Medvedev play at the top-10 level, and after that he unexpectedly crashed out in 1/32 of the Miami Masters from the low-ranking Jaume Munyar. Medvedev himself explained that defeat by his poor condition and said that he would prepare well for the dirt season. In Monte Carlo, he went even further, joking that he would win all the clay tournaments this season.

"I will win all three Masters and end up as the cherry on the cake — winning the Roland Garros (laughs). No, I do not know," Medvedev said. — I don't like such predictions, because I always want to win anyway, and I managed to win Rome once. But if I don't win, it will probably be in Monte Carlo (the ground here is definitely not much slower than the surface in Miami and Indian Wells). At the same time, the first round against Karen will be a real challenge."

Daniil's concerns were understandable: playing against compatriots is always difficult.

"This is the first tournament on clay, and immediately the first match for both of us is so difficult psychologically, because we know each other very well," Khachanov explained. "Secondly, in terms of level, we immediately face each other, which is a difficult match for both of us."

An incredible comeback

But Karen could hardly have imagined that the plot would be so twisted. Although the first set seemed to be completely according to Medvedev's scenario. Daniil made a break in the fourth game (3:1), and in the sixth he again took the opponent's serve (5:1). But then strange things started happening to Daniel. At first, he couldn't serve for a set, and then he literally shut down from the game for 10 minutes. The Russian first racket "returned" when Karen equalized the score (5-5). Daniel finally took his serve, and then unexpectedly made another break, taking the game.

When Medvedev quickly broke again in the second set (3-1), and then took his serve, it seemed that the match was about to end. Plus Khachanov took a medical break. But after that, Karen turned on his full power again and this time he played so powerfully that he won five games in a row. Moreover, Daniil did not fail the draws, he just showed Karen top-level tennis.

So it turned into the final set, which started again with a break by Medvedev (2-0). However, when Khachanov quickly equalized again after a series of double faults from Daniil (2-2), it became clear that the match would drag on. After that, the break parade continued. Starting from the score of 4:2, the guys took only each other's serves. And Karen was the first to flinch. At 5-4 Khachanov served poorly again, although Daniil's leg was cramped and he played the last draws literally on one leg.

"I trained well before the tournament, and I played better in training than in the match with Karen," Medvedev said in an on—court interview. — Although I'm generally happy with my performance. It was my first clay match of the season, and it's not my favorite surface. That's why I didn't have good shots and decisions at important moments. But I'm glad I won. I watched today's matches and there were a lot of breaks everywhere. I don't think Karen served any aces today. So the court is quite slow. Overall, I'm happy with my level and I'm looking forward to the next matches. I'm fine, despite the cramps."

Next, Medvedev will play with Alexander Muller. This will be the second match of their face—to-face confrontation - at Wimbledon 2024, the Russian turned out to be stronger at an early stage in four sets.

The first check

Another Russian, Andrey Rublev, got into the top eight and missed the first round. In the second, he will meet with the most experienced Frenchman Gael Monfils. But the most interesting thing is that this will be the first match when Russian sports legend Marat Safin will be present in Andrey's boxing. He will coach Rublev during the clay season. Fernando Vicente will remain the main mentor of the tennis player.

Recall that in 2024, Andrey had an ambiguous season. He won the Masters in Madrid, defeating Carlos Alcaraz on the way to the trophy, and also reached the final in Montreal. However, despite his successes, the Russian faced many setbacks, including defeats in the first rounds and disqualification in Dubai for his behavior.

Outbursts of anger and frequent self-harm became his calling card, and after the scandalous defeat at Wimbledon, Andrei turned to Safin for help, who helped him calm his ardor.

And at the Australian Open 2025, Andrey revealed the details of his conversations with Safin.

"I took pills for depression, but they didn't help at all. Then I stopped, and Safin helped me a lot with his conversations. How exactly? He helped me realize a lot, and then I started working with a psychologist. I've learned a lot about myself and I no longer feel crazy anxiety and stress because I don't know what to do with my life," Rublev said in an interview with The Guardian.

Safin, 45, is an Honored Master of Sports of Russia, a former world number one in singles for nine weeks. He is a winner of two Grand Slam tournaments, a two—time Davis Cup winner with the Russian national team and the winner of 17 ATP tournaments (15 of them in singles). Member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame since 2016. During his performances, Marat was considered a master of the soil, but, like Rublev, he could not always control his emotions. Working with Andrey will be his first serious coaching job.