Friday Preview: Djokovic v Medvedev, Nadal v Pella In QF Action

Top seed Novak Djokovic and second seed Rafael Nadal are among the top names in action at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Friday, when all singles and doubles quarter-finals will be played.

Djokovic continues his quest for a third Monte-Carlo title against tenth seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia. The Serbian leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 3-0, but this will be their first match on clay. Djokovic shook off the clay rust in his opening-round clash with Philipp Kohlschreiber and rounded into form with a dominant victory over American Taylor Fritz on Thursday.

Who will win the fourth @FedEx ATP Head2Head battle between these players?#RolexMCMasters

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) April 18, 2019

Medvedev has also been highly impressive. The World No. 14 dropped five games in his first two rounds and then took out sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece for his berth in the last eight. The Russian is the first player this season to pick up 20 match wins, but is looking for his first Top 5 win in two years.

Nadal seeks to move closer to a 12th title at this event when he faces Guido Pella. The Spaniard leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-0. Pella has been a force on clay this season, winning his first ATP Tour title at the Brasil Open (d. Jarry) and scoring a Top 15 victory this week over Marin Cilic en route to the quarter-finals. Nadal, as usual, has been dominant from the first ball in Monte-Carlo. He’s dropped seven games in his first two matches and is on a 17-match winning streak on Court Rainier III.

Dusan Lajovic of Serbia and Italian qualifier Lorenzo Sonego open up play on Friday. Lajovic scored his first Top 5 win against Dominic Thiem to move into the last eight, while World No. 96 Sonego has won all of his main draw matches without dropping a set. The Serbian seeks his first Masters 1000 semi-final, while Sonego aims for his first ATP Tour semi-final.

The final match of the day will see ninth seed Borna Coric of Croatia take on 13th seed Fabio Fognini of Italy. Fognini won their lone FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting five years ago on the red clay of Umag. The Italian has turned his season around after arriving in Monte-Carlo having lost seven of his past eight matches, upsetting third seed Alexander Zverev to reach his fifth ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final. Coric has spent more than eight hours on court to move into his first Monte-Carlo quarter-final and continues to increase his level with each match.

Second seeds Lukasz Kubot / Marcelo Melo and third seeds Jamie Murray / Bruno Soares are among the top doubles teams who will take to Court des Princes. 

ORDER OF PLAY – FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2019

COURT RAINIER III start 11:00 am
Dusan Lajovic (SRB) vs [Q] Lorenzo Sonego (ITA) 
[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs [10] Daniil Medvedev (RUS) 
Guido Pella (ARG) vs [2] Rafael Nadal (ESP) 
[9] Borna Coric (CRO) vs [13] Fabio Fognini (ITA)

COURT DES PRINCES start 11:00 am
[3] Jamie Murray (GBR) / Bruno Soares (BRA) vs Diego Schwartzman (ARG) / Joao Sousa (POR) 
Robin Haase (NED) / Wesley Koolhof (NED) vs Radu Albot (MDA) / Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) 
[7] Nikola Mektic (CRO) / Franko Skugor (CRO) vs [2] Lukasz Kubot (POL) / Marcelo Melo (BRA) 
After Suitable Rest – Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) / Horacio Zeballos (ARG) vs Marcelo Demoliner (BRA) / Daniil Medvedev (RUS)