Daniil Medvedev shakes off mid-match outburst, seals Gaël Monfils in Monte Carlo

Is he in or out?

The clay-court season has long been Daniil Medvedev’s least favorite time of year, and though he was already feeling frustration in his first match of the swing, the former world No. 1 channeled it into winning tennis at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and a 6-2, 6-4 win over Gaël Monfils.

Medvedev lost his cool with umpire Mohamed Lahyani after falling behind a break in the second set only to reel off the final five games of the match, edging past Monfils in 87 minutes on Court Rainier III.

"I'm happy I managed to, at one moment, stay calm, to get back composure," he said on court after the match, still smarting over the missed calls that led to his mid-match outbust. "That's what I wanted to do more this year. As I've always said, there's going to be moments when I'm still going to get crazy, and let's see because I'm 99% sure the ball was out.

Informed that the replay confirmed his suspicion, Medvedev added, "It probably wasn't even that close! It's a pity because I would have won the game, and it wouldn't have been 4-1 for Gaël. Maybe I'd win, 6-2. But I'm happy with, even down 4-1, I managed to come back and win the set."

The 2021 US Open champion has regularly and creatively erred his disdain for clay over the years, but nonetheless strung together his most consistent results on the surface last spring, winning his first clay-court Masters 1000 title at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome and reaching the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo.

Back on the clay after reaching the finals and semifinals of Indian Wells and Miami, Medvedev was up against a particularly strange stat when he drew Monfils as his opponent, having never defeated a Top 400 French player on clay (0-10).

Though Monfils, a sentimental favorite at 37, has admitted to preferring faster surfaces at this stage of his career, the former world No. 6 can still boast plenty of experience on clay, having reached the semifinals of Roland Garros in 2008. After pulling off a comeback against Aleksandar Vukic the first round, Monfils appeared more than capable of an upset against Medvedev, whom he had beaten in their last two meetings.

Instead, it was Medvedev, seeded fourth behind Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz (who withdrew before his first match due to a right arm injury), who enjoyed the quicker start, breaking twice in the opening set and keep his stat sheet clean with five unforced errors to 15 from Monfils.

Musing about his defensive prowess on Wednesday, Medvedev demurred when asked if he could win on clay from the back of the court. "We can talk about Rafa[el Nadal], who is amazing at defense, but also if you give him an easy ball on the forehand, you know the point is over. But when you play Gaël, he's very good at defense, that sometimes you're scared to attack him because that's what he loves doing. So, it was a tactical game here and there, and I feel like I played good speed where I could defend well but also not give him easy balls so he could hit winners."

No stranger to a momentum shift, Monfils got to work on Medvedev in the second set, breaking serve as Medvedev boiled over when a lines official appeared to get back-to-back calls incorrect on the baseline. The first was upheld by umpire Layhani but the electronic replay showed both calls to be out, leading Medvedev to go on a lengthy tirade as Monfils held for 4-1.

“How can you apologize? I lost the freaking game,” Medvedev exclaimed, striking his own chair in frustration.

Somehow avoiding admonishment from Layhani, the 28-year-old regained his composure in time to turn the tables on Monfils, dropping just five points in the next three games to level the set and break serve to find himself serving for the match.

Clinching the win with a love hold, Medvedev got one last lick in with the Monte Carlo crowd, striking a ball into the stands but apologized to Layhani at the handshake and cheekily signed the camera with the lingering question: “In or out???”

Up next for Medvedev is countryman Karen Khachanov, the No. 15 seed who rallied from a set down to defeat Francisco Cerúndolo, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 (Medvedev leads 5-1).

"I think Karen definitely likes clay more, but I can play well on clay! I can say forever, when I am 45, that I have a Rome Mastes title, so I can play well on clay. I'm happy about it, but Karen is a tough opponent, and I need to be at my best to beat him."