Daniil Medvedev started his clay season on a high as he defeated Lorenzo Sonego by 6-3, 6-2 in the opening round of the ongoing Rolex Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday. The Russian broke the Italian’s serve in the second game of the opening set and took a convincing 3-0 lead before wrapping up the set by 6-3.

Medvedev once again took a 2-1 lead in the second set by breaking Sonego’s serve in the third game. The 27-year-old admitted that playing on clay is tough but this win against a difficult opponent will give him a lot of confidence for the upcoming matches.

Medvedev wrapped up the match in 89 minutes at the Court Rainier III.

“Every match is a struggle [on clay], but I have had some good matches on clay,” said Medvedev. “I managed to play good against a very strong player on clay. Lorenzo is very strong. Here in Monte-Carlo there are a lot of Italians in the crowd, but a lot of French also, so it was fun to play, and I am happy to beat such a tough opponent.”

On the other hand, Sonego was not at his absolute best against Medvedev and could not make use of the home crowd advantage.

“It’s completely different on clay, but confidence is confidence,” said the 19-time tour-level titlist Medvedev. “It’s about winning matches, because it is always two players that play, and one is going to win… I hope to bring this confidence even further.”

Meanwhile, Medvedev will face Alexander Zverev in the second round. The Russian has a 7-6 advantage against the German.

“We’ve had some tough matches,” said Medvedev. “We played for the first time maybe seven years ago on the ATP Tour, and in juniors maybe 12 years ago. I remember I beat him once in a final on clay in juniors, but it’s going to be a different story.

“I saw him in the first two matches, he seemed to be in good shape. I’m just going to have to be at my best.”