MONTE CARLO – Stefanos Tsitsipas’ bid for a third consecutive Monte Carlo Masters title was ended after a straight-set loss to American Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals on Friday, while Daniil Medvedev was knocked out by Holger Rune.

Greek second seed Tsitsipas was never in the mix as he lost 6-2, 6-4 to Fritz, who won the Indian Wells Masters in 2022.

Said world No. 10 Fritz: “I thought my level today was very high. I think I played a very good match. Beating him here gives me a lot of confidence. It has given me the reassurance I need to know I can play well on clay.

“I seemed to play well on the big points. I took my chances. I knew that if I played too safe, he would be able to get around and dictate on the forehand. So even in the pressure moments, I pulled the trigger.”

Eighth-seeded Fritz raced to a 4-0 lead in the opening set, which he wrapped up by winning his service game to love.

World No. 3 Tsitsipas improved slightly in the second set, only for Fritz to break decisively for 4-3 with a winner.

He then held firm to set up a semi-final with Russian Andrey Rublev, who overcame some second-set nerves to dispatch German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff with a 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) win.

On the semi-final clash, Fritz said: “He is a great player and a good friend and I am excited for the match. He is tough.”

Rublev lost the first game on his serve before bagging six in a row in a quick opening set, but Struff, the world No. 100, found his stride in the second as the fifth seed showed signs of nerves.

Rublev broke for 4-3, only for Struff to break back in the following game and force a tiebreak, in which the Russian regained his composure to prevail on his second match point.

Said the world No. 6: “I was able to show a great level through the match, except some moments where I started to show emotions and started to get negative.

“In the end, it was a dramatic match, especially in the second set. But I was able to calm myself down and play a good tiebreak and I was lucky to win in straight sets.

“I was trying to still be aggressive in the second set, but he started to play a bit better. He started to play more aggressive.

“If I started to push, he would start to destroy me, so I have to be the one to hit the ball.”

In another quarter-final, Medvedev’s run of five successive finals came to a halt as the former world No. 1 slipped to a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Danish rising star Rune.

Russian Medvedev clinched his fourth title in five events at the Miami Masters earlier in April but has still never won an ATP clay-court tournament.

World No. 9 Rune will next meet eighth-ranked Jannik Sinner, who overcame his Italian compatriot Lorenzo Musetti 6-2, 6-2.

Musetti had on Thursday upset 22-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. The 21-year-old came from a set down to derail the Serb’s quest for a record-extending 39th Masters trophy. REUTERS