Djokovic falls to Medvedev, Nadal marches on

Monte Carlo Masters semis: Daniil Medvedev vs Dusan Lajovic; Rafael Nadal vs Fabio Fognini

World number one Novak Djokovic's French Open preparations were dealt with a blow as he suffered a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 defeat by Russian Daniil Medvedev in the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals on Friday.

Djokovic, a two-time champion in Monte Carlo, roared back to level the contest after dropping the first set but that did not prevent the 23-year-old Medvedev from claiming the biggest victory of his career.

Medvedev had lost each of his previous three encounters against Djokovic but on this occasion broke his Serbian opponent's serve five times to move into the final four.

"He's got a very solid backhand. He hits it very low and with depth," Djokovic said.

"A windy day like today, conditions are changing every single game. It's kind of tough to find the rhythm, and he doesn't give you much rhythm.

"He improved his movement a lot since last year. He definitely deserves to be where he is."

Medvedev will next face another Serb Dusan Lajovic, who followed up his shock win over world number five Dominic Thiem with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Italian qualifier Lorenzo Sonego with a 6-4, 7-5 victory.

For Djokovic, it was another premature exit from an ATP Masters 1000 event after he crashed out in the early rounds at Indian Wells and Miami last month.

The 31-year-old has struggled for rhythm in his first clay court event of the season and will need step up his game to have a chance of completing a personal sweep at next month's French Open by lifting his fourth straight Grand Slam title.

Second seed Rafael Nadal was forced to work hard for his 18th straight match win at the Monte Carlo Country Club as he fought back to beat Argentina Guido Pella 7-6(1), 6-3.

The 11-times champion made a sluggish start and was one point away from 1-5 deficit in the opening set but recovered well to convert seven of his 13 break-point opportunities and advance after two hours and 20 minutes.

Nadal will meet 13th seed Fabio Fognini, who rode through a poor start to upset No. 9 Borna Coric 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 in Friday's final match.

"It was a very tough first set physically and mentally, too. Losing the first three games with my serve was tough. But I found a way at the right time," world number two Nadal said.

"I was lucky at 4-1, he had two points to be 5-1 and with 5-1 it's almost impossible. Then I played better. Being in the semi-finals again here means a lot to me."

Nadal has now won 25 consecutive sets on Court Rainier III since dropping one in his opening match in 2017 to Briton Kyle Edmund.