Medvedev masters Machac at Roland Garros

Daniil Medvedev passed a tricky third-round test from Czech Tomas Machac on Saturday at Roland Garros, where he advanced 7-6(4), 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 after three hours and 24 minutes of high drama.

Played in an electrifying atmosphere under the roof on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, Medvedev led by two-sets-to-love and a break. However, Machac refused to fade, soaring back to claim the third set before he continued to hang tough in the gruelling baseline exchanges with Medvedev in the fourth set.

However, with the prospect of a fifth set looming, Medvedev stepped up his level and gained the decisive break in the 10th game of the fourth. Machac, who defeated Novak Djokovic in Geneva last week, missed a smash at 4-5, deuce, before he struck a backhand wide to gift Medvedev victory.

The No. 5 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Medvedev, who is chasing his second major trophy, will face Alex de Minaur in the fourth round after the Aussie beat Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

Medvedev struck 53 winners and committed 50 unforced errors, according to Infosys Stats, to improve to 2-0 in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. Medvedev was not at his fluid best against Machac - who also led by a break in the fourth set - but found enough consistency in the closing stages to triumph.

The 28-year-old's best result in the French capital came in 2021, when he advanced to the quarter-finals, while his deepest run on clay so far in 2024 was in Madrid, where he lost in the last eight.

Machac was competing in the third round in Paris for the first time. The 23-year-old holds a 18-9 record on the season and is No. 33 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.