Medvedev reaches first quarterfinal of the season in Marseille

Marseille, Feb 14 (IANS) Daniil Medvedev overcame French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-2, 6-4 at the Open 13 Provence to reach his first quarter-final of the season.

World No. 8 won 90 per cent (26/29) of his first-serve points to improve to 3-1 in the pair’s ATP Head-to-Head series, according to ATP stats.

Medvedev suffered a second-round defeat to American Learner Tien at the Australian Open and then lost in the second round in Rotterdam to Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci.

"I lost early in Australia. I thought sometimes when I play good in Australia, which has happened many times, your body is already used and tired. So you want to take it a bit slower. But I played two matches, even if they were tough, so I thought I might as well play many tournaments and Marseille is one I like," Medvedev said.

Wild card Medvedev is seeking his first title since he won in Rome in May 2023 and will next play Jan-Lennard Struff after the German beat Hugo Grenier 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

Earlier, Zhang Zhizhen upset fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-3 in a battle between two big hitters to make his 11th ATP Tour quarter-final. The Chinese player outhit Hurkacz, who reached the semi-finals at the ATP 500 in Rotterdam last week, by 37 winners to 30 during their two-hour, eight-minute clash.

By defeating Hurkacz, Zhang notched his first win over a Top 20 opponent on hard courts since defeating the Pole in Tokyo in 2023. The World No. 52, who holds a 3-7 record in tour-level quarter-finals, will next face Zizou Bergs.

Belgium’s Bergs outlasted eighth seed Nuno Borges 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-2 to reach his fifth tour-level quarter-final (1-3), and third indoors.

Bergs regrouped after losing a tight second set to motor through a dominant decider. The Belgian won 100 per cent (10/10) of first-serve points and did not face a break point in the final set, ATP reports.