Third-round competition at the Monte-Carlo Masters wraps up on Wednesday, when Joao Fonseca and Daniil Medvedev take the court. They are going up against Arthur Rinderknech and Matteo Berrettini, respectively.
Joao Fonseca vs. Arthur Rinderknech
Fonseca finally has a decent draw at a Masters 1000 tournament. At the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the 19-year-old Brazilian opened with Gabriel Diallo, will meet Rinderknech on Wednesday, and would then run into Daniil Medvedev or Matteo Berrettini. That is quite a favorable clay-court path to a Masters 1000 quarterfinal. This comes after Fonseca went up against Jannik Sinner in the Indian Wells fourth round and Carlos Alcaraz in the Miami second round.
This marks the first-ever showdown between Fonseca and Rinderknech, and it comes with the Frenchman having failed to build on his successful end of the 2025 campaign. He is just 5-7 this season and — unlike Fonseca — did not play well during the Sunshine Double. Rinderknech has not won a match since the Dubai second round and he did not even take a set against Terence Atmane in Miami. The world No. 27 has a losing record on clay dating back to the start of 2024, too, so Fonseca appears to have a clear edge in this matchup.
Pick: Fonseca in 2
(7) Daniil Medvedev vs. (WC) Matteo Berrettini
Medvedev and Berrettini will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers on Wednesday. All three of their previous encounters have gone Medvedev’s way, but they have not faced each other since January of 2022. If anything, though, the Russian may have even more of an advantage now. Berrettini has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons and is down at No. 90 in the world. The Italian is a modest 7-6 this year after getting a first-set retirement from Roberto Bautista Agut in round one.
Thanks to several withdrawals, the ninth-ranked Medvedev got a first-round bye as the No. 7 seed. The 30-year-old is coming off a decent Sunshine Double in which he finished runner-up in Indian Wells to Sinner before losing in the Miami third round to Francisco Cerundolo. Although Medvedev acts like he absolutely despises clay, his results on it are more than adequate. Expect him to get far too many balls back in play for Berrettini’s liking.
Pick: Medvedev in 2