Match Report
\n Medvedev\u2019s secret to a mid-match mental reset: Clean laundry!<\/p>\n
Seventh seed holds off Marozsan in Madrid opener; Tsitsipas beats Bublik<\/p>\n
April 25, 2026<\/p>\n
David Ramos\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Daniil Medvedev earns a three-set win against Fabian Marozsan on Saturday in Madrid.
\n By Andy West<\/p>\n
A mid-match outfit change represents more than just a change of clothes for Daniil Medvedev<\/a>. <\/p>\n The former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings held his nerve for a 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-4 opening-round victory against Fabian Marozsan<\/a> on Saturday at the Mutua Madrid Open<\/a>, where he later gave a little insight into one of the ways he can forge a mental reset during a match. Medvedev, who raced to the first set but soon found himself into a decider against Marozsan after letting slip a 4-2 lead in the second, revealed that a fresh set of clothes helped him regain composure after he lost the second-set tie-break. <\/p>\n \u201cYou can call it a superstition or not, but what I do is [this],” Medvedev said, before grabbing his shirt to explain. “My shirt is wet. Even now it\u2019s wet. Not soaking wet, but a little bit wet. So once you take this dirty, wet stuff away and put on something new, and if you do socks, shorts, t-shirt, underwear\u2026 sometimes shoes [although] this time not\u2026 then it takes about three and a half minutes, and you kind of forget what happened before.\u201d <\/p>\n Whatever Medvedev did on this occasion, it worked. The 23-time tour-level titlist earned a crucial break in the 10th game of the third set to see off Marozsan and complete his 20th win of the season. It was an impressive return to winning ways for a player who was competing for the first time since his stunning 0-6, 0-6 loss to Matteo Berrettini<\/a> at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cI think I played a good match in general, maybe except for a couple of points,\u201d Medvedev said. \u201cOn clay it\u2019s kind of a bit easier to come back from a set and a break, so for him it was his last chance, and he managed to play much better. <\/p>\n \u201cHe was making fewer mistakes and changed the rhythm a bit more. So I\u2019m happy that I managed to stay in the match. I think in the third set, I was closer to winning it, and I finally did, so I\u2019m really happy about it.\u201d <\/p>\n and breathe \ud83e\udd75@DaniilMedwed<\/a> campaign begins with a hard-fought victory over Marozsan 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-4! @MutuaMadridOpen<\/a> | #MMOPEN<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/0wAp62R8Jl<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 ATP Tour (@atptour) April 25, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n Medvedev won 79 per cent (50\/63) of points behind his first serve against Marozsan, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The 30-year-old\u2019s next test in Madrid will be a maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Nicolai Budkov Kjaer<\/a>: The #NextGenATP Norwegian, playing in his first ATP Masters 1000 main-draw after coming through qualifying, earlier kept up his breakout run by upsetting 31st seed Denis Shapovalov<\/a> 6-2, 6-1. <\/p>\n Stefanos Tsitsipas<\/a> ousted eighth seed Alexander Bublik<\/a> 6-2, 7-5 to earn his fourth Top 20 win of the season and first on clay since the 2024 Paris Olympics<\/a>. Last season, Tsitsipas went 0-5 against Top 20 players.<\/p>\n The Greek dropped just two points behind his first serve (33\/35) and did not face a break point, helping him improve to 3-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Bublik. The 27-year-old, who reached the Madrid final in 2019, will next face Spanish qualifier Daniel Merida<\/a>, who beat 26th seed Corentin Moutet<\/a> 6-3, 6-4.<\/p>\n