Monte Carlo | Ruud and Medvedev continue their positive runs.

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Its full steam ahead at the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters as the field reaches the third round without any hic-ups to the schedule and eight of the nine seeds in action on day four made it through to the halfway point.

There’s no rhythm on clay. Every bounce is a bad bounce and even when it’s a good bounce, you’re expecting a bad bounce so you cannot get a rhythm, but I managed to play good against a very strong player on clay Daniil Medvedev

The fourth-seeded Casper Ruud, having rediscovered his form when he won Estoril last weekend, extended his run of consecutive wins on clay to five without a loss by avenging a defeat he suffered at the hands of Dutchman Botic Van De Zandschulp 7-5 7-6(1).

“It is never easy to start at a new tournament and against a player I have lost to before,” Ruud, a two-time grand slam finalist last year, revealed after the two-hour and 15-minute contest. “Also more recently in Miami this year, which was a tough three-setter. I was a bit sloppy and didn’t take my chances. Sometimes it is a little tricky playing someone you recently lost to, like ‘Not again’, but in this case I was a bit happy because I felt like some unfinished business from the Miami match.”

There were nine breaks of serve in the match with the 24-year-old Norwegian saving a set point in the second to progress to a meeting with Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff who produced the only upset of the day by taking out the 14th seed, Australia’s Alex de Minaur, with a surprisingly comfortable 6-3 6-2 scoreline achieved in just 69-minutes.

Daniil Medvedev gets his campaign going on his least favourite surface

Marcio Machado/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

The third-seeded Muscovite, Daniil Medvedev made his season’s clay court debut with an equally comfortable, 88-minute, 6-3 6-2 victory over Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego to extend his run of wins in his last 27 matches, to 26.

“Every match is a struggle, but I have had some good matches on clay,” a satisfied Medvedev commented. “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.”

Turning to his least favourite surface, he added: “It’s completely different on clay, but confidence is confidence. It’s about winning matches, because it is always two players that play, and one is going to win.

“I always struggle on clay. Every match is a struggle but I did have some good matches on clay.

“There’s no rhythm on clay. Every bounce is a bad bounce and even when it’s a good bounce, you’re expecting a bad bounce so you cannot get a rhythm, but I managed to play good against a very strong player on clay.”

The Russian will now face rival, the 13th seed from Germany, Alexander Zverev on Thursday, a player he currently leads 7-6 in terms of wins and losses which includes a recent victory at this year’s Indian Wells Masters. However it will be their first meeting on clay.

Speaking about the prospect of facing Zverev for a 14th time, Medvedev said: “That’s a lot of times already actually. I don’t think I played anyone more than this. We had some tough matches.

“We played first time maybe seven years ago on ATP Tour and juniors it’s maybe 12 years ago. I remember I beat him once in the final on clay in juniors but yeah, it’s going to be a different story.

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

In other second round action, the seventh seeded seed Jannik Sinner benefitted from a retirement by Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman when leading 6-0,3-1, while the sixth seed, Denmark’s 19-year-old Holger Rune breezed past the former US Open champion from Austria, Dominic Thiem 6-2 6-4 in 95-minutes.

Eighth seed Taylor Fritz survived a testing 98-minute encounter with the event’s 2014 champion, Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka, the American eventually coming through 7-6(10) 6-2 and Italy’s poster-boy, Matteo Berrettini celebrated his 27th birthday with an equally testing two-hour and 42-minute win over Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 5-7 7-6(1) 6-4 having Initially led his opponent 5-0 in the opening set.

Ninth seed from Russia Karen Khachanov and the 16th seed from Italy, Lorenzo Musetti also advanced, the latter to face the world No.1 Novak Djokovic who has yet to lose to the Italian, and the former after beating his brother-in-law from Belarus, Ilya Ivashka 7-6(2) 6-2, his Russian compatriot Andrey Rublev, seeded five.