Berrettini must be inspired

The Italian has never beaten Medvedev, but here in Monte Carlo he can believe in his chances

He likes the conditions; after his quick win over Agut (who retired), he said it was lively and not super slow in Monte Carlo, yeah right. Personally I think he mainly felt the ball really well this morning and his opponent was completely out of it, so he’s drawing positive conclusions from that, except we see match after match that it’s super slow again this year, and with temperatures struggling to rise we’re not exactly on track to have very lively conditions. Berrettini is going to have to prove things to me because I’ve got my eye on him; his first round doesn’t mean anything and his track record in Monaco is anecdotal.

Match tomorrow against Daniil on centre court, the coldest court and unfortunately not much of an atmosphere. We’ll also be keeping an eye on Medvedev for his clay-court debut this season after finding his best tennis again. Strangely enough his record is good on the Rock: a semi, a quarter and a few losses, but overall, for a slow clay when you know how much he hates it, it’s an excellent tournament for him on the whole. I think he’s mainly found a good vibe again with his new camp and that even in defeat he gets less worked up, he’s in a good place.

I give him the edge over Berrettini in the match-up; his return quality bothers the Italian a lot, who has to create the play and try to hit through him, which is really not easy at all. I have to say that for me this match almost entirely depends on Medvedev: if he’s properly focused he’ll win fairly comfortably, but if he starts to get frustrated and toss in double faults, that’s not a good sign...