Taylor Fritz, of the United States, hits a forehand to Stefanos Tsitsipas, of Greece, throughout their Monte Carlo Tennis Masters quarterfinals match in Monaco, Friday, April 14, 2023.| Photo Credit: AP

American Taylor Fritz upset two-time defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-4 to succeed in the Monte Carlo Masters semifinals on Friday.

The second-seeded Tsitsipas was adopted out of the match by third-seeded Daniil Medvedev, who misplaced 6-3, 6-4 to sixth-seeded Holger Rune of Denmark.

It means the highest three seeds have now been knocked out of the clay-court match following 22-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic’s exit within the third spherical on Thursday.

Tsitsipas was on a 12-match successful streak on the Cote d'Azur, the place he claimed his two Masters 1,000 titles.

“I stuck to the strategy of pulling the trigger and not letting him dictate with his forehand,” the eighth-seeded Fritz stated.

Tsitsipas broke again to 4-4 within the second set, however then Fritz broke his serve simply for 5-4 and closed out the match with an ace for a love maintain.

“I thought my level today was very high. I think I played a very good match. Beating him here gives me a lot of confidence,” stated Fritz, who hit 17 winners. “It has given me the reassurance I need to know I can play well on clay."

Fritz has won five career titles, including two this year, but none on clay.

The 2022 Indian Wells champion next faces fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev, after the Russian beat German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff 6-1, 7-6 (5).

Medvedev, who saved two match points when he beat Alexander Zverev on Thursday, was distracted by the crowd at the end of the first set and spoke to the umpire about it.

He broke back to 2-2 in the fourth game of the second set, but swiped his racket on the ground in frustration after losing the match. Medvedev was looking to reach his sixth straight final this year, having won four titles in 2023.

“I have huge respect for everything he’s done," Rune said. "It was not easy to stop him but I’m happy I managed to do it.”

Rune, who staged a comeback to beat Djokovic and win the Paris Masters final November, is aiming for his first title of the yr.

The 19-year-old Dane subsequent performs Italian Jannik Sinner, who's 21.

The seventh-seeded Sinner eased previous No. 16 Lorenzo Musetti 6-2, 6-2 in an all-Italian quarterfinal to succeed in his third straight semifinal at Masters stage this season.

“I felt great today on the court. I’m hitting the ball in the right spots in the right moments,” Sinner stated. "I attempted to remain aggressive, which I’ve accomplished.”

Sinner broke Musetti twice within the second set and transformed his first match level with a powerful first serve that Musetti returned lengthy.

The 21-year-old Sinner misplaced to Medvedev within the Miami Masters ultimate two weeks in the past and was overwhelmed by second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz within the semis at Indian Wells earlier than that.

Alcaraz and report 11-time champion Rafael Nadal pulled out of the Monte Carlo match.

Nadal stated Friday he may even miss the Barcelona Open, additional limiting his clay-court preparations for the French Open.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion stated he had not absolutely recovered from a left hip flexor damage sustained on the Australian Open.