Medvedev squeezes past Mannarino
Daniil Medvedev faced a double test at the Libema Open, playing his first grass-court match of the season and facing the unorthodox game of Adrian Mannarino.
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The top seed in 's-Hertogenbosch came through the challenging opener with a 7-6(6), 6-4 victory, fuelled by a strong finish in the first-set tie-break, in which he saved two set points at 4/6.
The matchup was the pair's fourth at this event — the most frequent matchup in tournament history. They are now level at 2-2 in 's-Hertogenbosch, with Medvedev leading 5-4 overall. Five of their nine meetings have come on grass, including a five-set win for Mannarino at Wimbledon in 2018.
In a physical, scrappy match, Medvedev did not face a break point after dropping serve in the opening game. He converted two of his nine break chances.
"He plays perfect on grass, he plays low, so you cannot really — at least me with my shots‚ I cannot really hit through the ball," he said. "I actually make it the same for him, and that's why we both kind of can't hit winners from each other's shots, and so we just play this cat-and-mouse game, which is tough physically for both of us."
Through to his 82nd tour-level quarter-final and his 12th on grass, Medvedev will next meet Reilly Opelka. In a match between two of the biggest servers on Tour, the American lucky loser fired 12 aces in a 7-6(5), 6-3 win against Nicolas Jarry.
In other action, Zizou Bergs rallied from a set down to claw past fourth seed Alexei Popyrin 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-6(3). Bergs struck 31 winners and is the first Belgian quarter-finalist at the grass-court event since David Goffin in 2025.
Into his seventh tour-level quarter-final and fourth of the season, Bergs will next meet Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal, who advanced after Hubert Hurkacz was forced to withdraw due to a lower back injury.
Second seed Ugo Humbert retired in the second round at Roland Garros last month but showed little sign of discomfort in his first match since, beating Daniel Evans 7-5, 6-3.
The Frenchman converted all three break points he conjured en route to a one-hour, 41-minute win.
Seeking his second title of the season, the Marseille champion will play Nuno Borges in the quarter-finals.