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Medvedev advances to French Open last 16 with win over Machac

Daniil Medvedev eyes the ball against Tomas Machac
Daniil Medvedev eyes the ball against Tomas MachacAFP
Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev beat Tomas Machac 7-6(4), 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 in an entertaining clash under the roof on Court Suzanne-Lenglen on Saturday to move into the French Open last 16.

Machac was in the limelight last month when he stunned world number one Novak Djokovic in the Geneva Open semi-finals for the biggest win of his career and he pushed Medvedev in a match lasting nearly three and a half hours.

Having taken the first two sets, Medvedev lost his way and capitulated in the third after he broke Machac, with the Czech player winning the next six games to the delight of a crowd starved of action on a rainy day in Paris.

Medvedev refocused in the fourth set, however, and despite Machac's bold attempts to force a decider, the Russian stepped up in the crucial points to advance.