Daniil Medvedev defeats Adrian Mannarino in fourth Den Bosch clash

Daniil Medvedev leveled an improbable Libéma Open head-to-head with Adrian Mannarino on Thursday, winning their fourth meeting in Den Bosch, 7-6 (6), 6-4.

“We’ve played many times here, actually,” the top seed reminded fans on court after the two-hour, five-minute victory. “I think four times, which is unbelievable. I don’t think I’ve played anyone as many times at one tournament. I think it’s 2-2 now, so I’m happy to win. It was a tough match and it was pretty hot. We were both pretty tired, but I’m happy to win.”

Medvedev was playing his first match of the grass-court season, having bowed out of Roland Garros in the first round to Cameron Norrie. A two-time semifinalist at Wimbledon, the 2021 US Open champion is looking to turn around an underwhelming 2025 season on one of his better surfaces, starting with longtime rival Mannarino—himself a standout player on grass.

“He plays perfect on grass,” said Medvedev. “He plays low, so with me and my shots, I can’t really hit through the ball. I actually make it the same for him, and that’s why we both kind of can’t hit winners off each other’s’ shots.

“We play this cat and mouse game, which is kind of tough, physically, for both of us. Sometimes it’s a matter of a couple of points, and I’m happy I managed to win this game today.”

In addition to their four Den Bosch meetings, the rivals have faced off twice at Wimbledon, splitting those meetings as well. After an early exchange of breaks, Medvedev won the final four points of the ensuing first-set tiebreaker and scored the long break of the second set to book his spot in the quarterfinals.

“It was just a couple of points,” assessed Medvedev. “Sometimes on grass, that’s the way. I served pretty well, except the first game of the match! In the first game, it was pretty average. But I had more opportunities on his serve, so I felt kind of unlucky not to finish the sets earlier. At the same time, I had to save two set points in the first set.

“We both play low, so at one moment, you’re like, ‘Ok, I cannot hit strong. I’m going to miss,’” he added with a laugh. “So in the end, we kind of know what to do: we just play low and wait for the next mistake. There is no other way. There were a couple of times I played him at Wimbledon, and it was a bit different for both of us because it’s the first tournament on grass, and we’re not too used to hitting the ball. If we played at Wimbledon, it would be a different game for both of us. We’d both go for more shots.

“Was it a chess game? I’m not sure, but it was like 3,000 meters or 10,000 meters. Something like this.”

We play this cat and mouse game, which is kind of tough, physically, for both of us. Sometimes it’s a matter of a couple of points, and I’m happy I managed to win. Daniil Medvedev

Standing between Medvedev and the semifinals is lucky loser Reilly Opelka, a former world No. 17 making his way back from injuries that sidelined him for much of the past three seasons.

Currently ranked No. 11, Medvedev and American Ben Shelton are currently in a dead rankings heat for No. 10. Competing at the BOSS Open in Stuttgart, Shelton is aiming to make his Top 10 debut, but will need to better Medvedev’s result in ‘s-Hertogenbosch to clinch the career-high ranking.