6-0, 6-0: Berrettini hands Medvedev the worst defeat of his career as the clay curse returns with a vengeance
Daniil Medvedev has never made peace with clay. On Wednesday in Monaco, the surface delivered its most brutal verdict yet — a 6-0 6-0 defeat in 49 minutes, six smashed rackets, and a scoreline without precedent in his career.
Daniil Medvedev, Monte-Carlo 2026 | © Chryslène Caillaud, 2026
Incredible scenes at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. Matteo Berrettini, playing on a wild card, defeated Daniil Medvedev, the No. 7 seed, 6-0, 6-0 in 49 minutes on Wednesday to reach the last 16 of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters — inflicting on the Russian the heaviest defeat of his ATP career and one of the most startling results of the clay season.
Medvedev did not have a single game point on his serve throughout the match. He landed 36 per cent of first serves, won just nine points on his own delivery and three on return, hit three winners against 28 unforced errors.
At 6-0, 2-0, having lost ten consecutive games, he picked up his racket and smashed it repeatedly – six times in total, hurling it to the back of the court, picking it up again and driving it into the ground before placing the ruins in the bin.
It was the first time Medvedev had lost a tour-level match without winning a game. Berrettini became the first player to beat a top-10 opponent 6-0 6-0 in a decade, since David Goffin defeated Tomas Berdych at the Rome Masters in 2016.
Four 6-0 set surrendered this season
It was Medvedev’s third 6-0 set surrendered in a single season – he conceded one to Learner Tien at the Australian Open and another to Francisco Cerundolo in Miami – and his first appearance on clay in 2026. The surface has never been his ally, and the manner of this defeat suggested the relationship had reached a new low.
His feelings about clay have been well-documented, and he never tried to hide them. In 2021, playing Rome, he spent a match against Aslan Karatsev muttering at changeovers. “If you like to be in the dirt like a dog, I don’t judge,” he told no one in particular.
At the same tournament he eventually turned to the supervisor sitting courtside: “Gerry, please default me, it would be better for everybody.” Two years later, having won the Italian Open – his first clay title – he arrived at Roland-Garros and lost in the first round. The Rome trophy had not converted him. “I don’t know if people like to eat clay, to have clay in their bags, their shoes, the socks, white socks — you can throw them into the garbage after clay season,” he said afterwards. “Maybe some people like it. I don’t. I am happy to have it finished.”
“When one isn’t right in one’s head…”
Wednesday in Monaco was something different, even by those standards. French former player Arnaud Clément, watching on, was direct in his assessment. “One can imagine that something is wrong,” he said. “When one isn’t right in one’s head, one produces that kind of performance.”
Berrettini, ranked No. 90, said afterwards that he had missed just three shots all match and described it as one of the finest performances of his career. He had come into the round having benefited from the retirement of Roberto Bautista Agut at 4-0 in the first round — a match that lasted 23 minutes.
On Wednesday, he went ten minutes longer and beat a former world No. 1. The Italian, who also delivered a note of levity to the occasion, apologised to Italian actor Carlo Verdone — a known Medvedev supporter — for eliminating his favourite player.
Berrettini will next face the winner of the match between Brazilian João Fonseca and Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.
Monte-Carlo 2026, Second round
C. Alcaraz (1) def. S. Baez : 6-1, 6-3
T. Etcheverry vs T. Atmane : TBA
J. Lehecka (11) vs A. Tabilo : TBA
A. Bublik (8) def. G. Monfils (WC) : 6-4, 6-4
L. Musetti (4) vs V. Vacherot : TBA
F. Marozsan vs H. Hurkacz (PR) : TBA
F. Cobolli (10) vs A. Blockx (Q) : TBA
A. de Minaur (5) def. C. Norrie : 7-6, 6-2
M. Berrettini (WC) def. D. Medvedev (7) : 6-0, 6-0
J. Fonseca vs A. Rinderknech : TBA
Z. Bergs def. A. Rublev (13) : 6-4, 6-1
C. Garin (Q) vs A. Zverev (3) : TBA
F. Auger-Aliassime (6) vs M. Cilic : TBA
C. Moutet vs C. Ruud (9) : TBA
F. Cerundolo (16) vs T. Machac : TBA
J. Sinner (2) def. U. Humbert : 6-3, 6-0
