Mallorca Championships 2022: 3 things that stood out in Daniil Medvedev's 2R win over Aslan Karatsev

Top seed and world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev of Russia beat his compatriot Aslan Karatsev 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of the Mallorca Open on Wednesday. Medvedev would now face fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Karatsev drew first blood by winning the first set, but Medvedev clawed his way back into the match to register his first career win against his compatriot.

On that note, let’s take a look at three factors that stood out in the match:

#1 Aslan Karatsev won the first set by hitting some amazing winners off of both wings

Karatsev managed to hit some amazing winners off his forehand and backhand in the first set. He engaged in frequent crosscourt backhand exchanges with Medvedev and hit some wonderful passing shots.

Karatsev also played some sumptuous drop shots to win a few cheap points. However, he committed quite a few unforced errors while playing aggressively and trying to hit the ball through Medvedev.

Karatsev hit a staggering 18 winners in the first set against Medvedev’s six. However, he also committed 15 unforced errors against his opponent’s eight.

#2 Daniil Medvedev came back strong in the second set as Aslan Karatsev suffered with his injured shoulder

Karatsev's already-injured shoulder started to show signs of aggravation from the second set onwards and he could no longer generate enough power in his shots. It allowed Medvedev to become more aggressive in the second set as he attacked his compatriot primarily with his backhand.

The 26-year-old managed to break Karatsev in the eighth game of the second set and then served out the set.

Unable to generate the same amount of power from the baseline, Karatsev rushed to the net frequently in the second set and was able to win most points by hitting a few volley winners.

However, Medvedev improved his serve in the second set, hitting five aces and winning 74% of points on first serve. He finished the set with nine winners against Karatsev’s eight.

#3 Daniil Medvedev blew away Aslan Karatsev in the final set as the latter’s first-serve ratio remained dismal

Karatsev hit a lot of winners in the match, but his poor first-serve ratio did him in

Daniil Medvedev continued to mount his attack as Karatsev's game fell completely flat. The 28-year-old hit a lot of unforced errors, and his dismal 45% first-serve percentage allowed Medvedev to gain the upper hand in the deciding set.

Medvedev broke Karatsev twice and never lost his serve to win the decider 6-2. The World No. 1 fired 10 aces in the match and was not broken in the last two sets. Karatsev, meanwhile, hit 35 winners in the match against Medvedev’s 24. However, he also committed 34 unforced errors against Medvedev’s 16.

Karatsev ended the match with a first-serve ratio of a measly 48%. It allowed Medvedev to break Karatsev's serve in the second and third sets and secure a third quarterfinal on grasscourt this season.