Daniil Medvedev dug deep to hold off Tomas Machac's threat in the French Open third round, claiming a 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 victory on Saturday. (Full Coverage | Tennis News)
Medvedev was pushed all the way to a first-set tie-break but took the opener, spurred on by an electric atmosphere on Court Suzanne Lenglen, before storming through the second.
Machac, who shocked Novak Djokovic in the Geneva Open semi-final last week, refused to back down, and soared through the third set, though he could not hold onto his building momentum.
With the prospect of a deciding set creeping closer, Medvedev rallied and held off a stubborn Machac, gaining a decisive break in the 10th game of the final set before a mistake from the Czech gifted him the victory.
Medvedev, who is chasing a second Major, will face either Alex de Minaur or Jan-Lennard Struff in the fourth round.
Data Debrief: Medvedev hits form on clay
Medvedev has a win percentage of 76 per cent on clay since 2023 in ATP events, compared to just 44 per cent on the same surface between 2016 and 2022.
The world number five has now reached the round of 16 for the 15th time in his career at Grand Slams; only Marat Safin, Mikhail Youzhny and Yevgeny Kafelnikov have reached the fourth round more often in Grand Slams amongst Russians.
