Daniil Medvedev into first quarter-final of 2025 in Marseille
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Russia's Daniil Medvedev is seeking his first title since Rome in 2023.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MARSEILLE – Former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev reached his first quarter-final of 2025 in Marseille on Feb 13, as China’s Zhang Zhizhen stunned fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz.
Eighth-ranked Medvedev defeated French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-2, 6-4 in a repeat of the 2021 final, which the Russian also won.
Medvedev, playing in Marseille on a wild card after second-round exits at the Australian Open and in Rotterdam, was seeking his first title since Rome in 2023.
“Funny enough we have played five times on tour and three times in Marseille,” he said of his opponent.
“It is where we meet all the time and I am happy that I played at a good level. Did not lose my serve and happy to win.”
Medvedev’s next challenge was Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, who saw off French player Hugo Grenier 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, for a place in the semi-finals. The match took place after press time on Feb 14.
Meanwhile, Zhang belied his ranking of 52 to stun Hurkacz 6-4, 6-7 (1-7), 6-3 in a big-hitting battle in which he cracked 37 winners to the Pole’s 30 during their 2hr 8min clash.
“I felt great on court today, it was the same goal as the first match, I tried to put the match to the tie-break, and that’s how I wanted to play,” said Zhang, who reached the quarter-finals in Marseille in 2024.
“I guess I like it here, two years in the quarters.”
Zhang’s next opponent was Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, who defeated Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2.
In other news, Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman, a former world No. 8, ended his professional tennis career on Feb 13 with a bruising defeat by Spain’s Pedro Martinez in the second round of the Argentina Open.
Schwartzman, currently ranked 386th, pulled a surprise in the first round by beating 40th-ranked Nicolas Jarry of Chile in three sets, his first win in 16 months.
But he was outclassed by 41st-ranked Martinez 6-2, 6-2, bringing the curtain down on his career.
Schwartzman had previously announced that this would be his last tournament.
The 32-year-old, standing at just 1.70m and one of the shortest male players to feature in the sport, made the semi-finals of the French Open in 2020, the same year he beat Rafael Nadal on clay at the Masters in Rome.
Over the course of his career he won four ATP titles, including Buenos Aires in 2021. AFP, REUTERS
