Medvedev suffers shock exit, Tsitsipas thumps De Minaur

Defending champion Daniil Medvedev suffered a shock exit in the last-16 of the Italian Open, as he was beaten 6-1 6-4 by Tommy Paul.

Medvedev, who was the second seed in the draw, cast a disgruntled figure as he put in an out-of-sorts performance.

Paul manoeuvred his opponent around the court effectively, with his drop shot proving particularly fruitful.

He was also able to take advantage of a string of errors from the Medvedev racquet, en route to beating a player ranked inside the world’s top 20 for the first time on clay.

The opening set was a real struggle for the Russian, as he hit only two winners and landed just 41 per cent of his first serves in court.

He did manage to break Paul in the opening game of the match, but from then it was all about the American, who broke back immediately and reeled off six games in a row, firing down seven winners of his own, to take it 6-1.

Medvedev made a better start to the second set as he held serve for the first time in the match, although he seemed unhappy at the slippery underfoot conditions after the court had been watered.

Any moisture soon dried out in the Rome heat though, and the 28-year-old was beginning to find his form, as he broke to move 2-0 up when Paul failed to return a fierce cross-court forehand.

The advantage did not last for long though, with the American making the most of some more wayward serving to break straight back, before holding to love.

By now, Paul was on a roll, and a stunning get, sprinting from the back of the court to hit a winner off a Medvedev drop shot, paved the way for another break, sealed with a blistering whipped backhand.

The Russian, who beat Britain’s Jack Draper earlier in the tournament, wasted break-point opportunities in the next game, and the writing was on the wall from there.

Although he held for 4-3, the damage had duly been done. There was no further break of serve in the match, with Paul taking the set 6-4 after Medvedev pushed a backhand long.

Paul now plays seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals, as he attempts to reach the last four of a Masters 1000 event for only the fourth time in his career.

Medvedev’s defeat leaves Stefanos Tsitsipas as one of the top-ranked players left in the draw, and he did not disappoint in thrashing Alex de Minaur.

The eighth seed, who has already knocked out Cameron Norrie, took just over an hour to register a 6-1 6-2 victory, breaking serve on five occasions.

The Greek won 74 per cent of points behind his first serve, while landing 14 winners and just four unforced errors across the course of the match.

With clay his favoured surface, he is among the favourites to lift the title, and was pleased with his display.

“I tried to do the best that I could out there, by bringing up the best quality in terms of strokes, I delivered,” he said in his on-court interview.

“Throughout the entire match, I was pretty consistent with my serves and the ball placement. I was able to construct those points patiently and then wait for those shorter balls to come up.

“I really felt like my opponent felt the heaviness and the depth of my ball. It gave me courage; it gave me great belief in myself that I can continue pushing in that sense. I knew that I had something good working for me today.”