Karen Khachanov, Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev have reached the quarterfinals of a Masters event together for the first time. Three Russians had made the last eight at a Slam twice before, but in different line-ups: in Melbourne-2021, Daniil and Andrey were joined by Aslan Karatsev, and two years later at Wimbledon the third man was Roman Safiullin. Interestingly, at the current Rome Masters, after Musetti and Zverev went out in the last 16, our guys are the only players from the top 16 still alive in the draw — apart from Sinner, naturally.
The first working day after the May holidays (big bank holidays in Russia) turned out to be a productive one for the boys. Let’s start with First&Red ambassador Karen, who is playing excellent tennis in the Italian capital and, for the first time since last year’s Canadian Masters, has won three matches in a row. Croatian player Prizmic was considered the favourite against Khachanov in the last 16, largely because of his win over Djokovic in the second round. But the day before, it was Karen who dealt better with the wind, which forced both players to make adjustments throughout the match. The crucial stretch of the first set was the five break points Khachanov saved, taking the key points in the set with authority — 6:1.
Given Karen’s tie-break record this season — 1–9 — there were reasons to worry about the outcome of the second set. But the Russian played it with composure, outplaying his opponent in backhand exchanges. In the quarterfinal, Khachanov will face two-time Roland Garros finalist Casper Ruud, who has won 12 of his 14 titles on clay — the surface where his heavy topspin shots become even more loaded and dangerous.
For Andrey Rublev, the match against Nikoloz Basilashvili, who is enjoying yet another renaissance, carried real importance in terms of Roland Garros seeding. A win all but guaranteed Andrey a place in the top 12, which means a chance to avoid the top four — including the main favourites for the major — until the quarterfinals. Last year, for example, Rublev ran into Sinner and Alcaraz in Paris and London earlier than he would have liked: in the fourth round. Of course, he still has a long way to go before he can even get to the top names at Roland Garros.
For now, though, what stood out was the self-control and intensity with which Andrey played against the Georgian. He did not fall apart or let his emotions run loose, even after going down a set and a break, and even after losing a game because of a warning for an obscene outburst — the umpire was not going to tolerate it, especially since Rublev had already been cited for ball abuse by then. But he held firm, spending two sets dealing with the extraordinary speed and ease with which his opponent was landing balls right on the lines, and then seized the initiative in the tie-break. A couple of deep returns from the Russian proved decisive, leaving Niko disarmed.
In the stands, Marat Safin raised his index finger — I assume he was pointing Andrey toward the need to start the first-strike pattern with a wide serve and open up the court, which his charge executed brilliantly at the end of the second set. The third set left no real doubt about the outcome. Now Rublev faces an extremely difficult quest: trying to stop Sinner on his way to a historic 32nd straight Masters win.
And finally, Daniil Medvedev, who had a late start to his match on Tuesday. But that did not unsettle him in the slightest. On the contrary, he produced one of his highest-quality clay-court performances. Young Argentine Thiago Tirante, who had knocked out Cobolli the previous day, broke in the opening game — and that was where his heroics ended. On super-slow clay, at night, Daniil played at maximum speed, stepping into attack first and rarely allowing his opponent the same opportunity. The average rally length on Medvedev’s serve in the first set did not exceed five shots. The drop shots worked beautifully, especially in the second set, when Daniil saved break points with two of them. I would even label this match “a very un-Medvedev style of play on a very un-Medvedev surface.”
The Rome 2023 champion has been favoured by this year’s Italian Masters draw: Machac withdrew through illness without taking the court, effectively giving Medvedev a second bye, while Yamas Ruiz, Tirante and even his next opponent, Landaluce, are within Daniil’s reach even on his least-loved clay. The Russian’s class is above that of the opponents listed, but knowing Medvedev’s relationship with clay, any match can turn into torture in an instant. Hopefully, the quarter-final against the Spaniard will not be one of those.
