MOSCOW, June 21. /TASS/. Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev has reached the quarterfinals round of the ATP (the Association of Tennis Professionals) tournament in Halle, Germany after defeating Laslo Djere of Serbia on Wednesday.

It took Medvedev over two hours and ten minutes and three sets to defeat his Serbian opponent, 6-3; 6-7 (5-7), 6-3.

"Grass is so tough for me," the ATP’s official website quoted Medvedev as saying in his post-match interview. "You can actually play a perfect match and lose on two tie-breaks, so it’s a little bit strange for me."

"When I see top players like Roger [Federer], from one side they can seem like aliens but you try to see the best in them, and how they are able on this surface, where it’s sometimes tricky to beat anyone, to have so many titles. Wimbledon, Halle, whatever," the Russian tennis player continued.

"It’s just amazing and that’s what I try to watch. Happy to win and looking forward to the next matches," Medvedev added.

The Russian is now set to face off in the quarterfinals against Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain, who defeated Brandon Nakashima of the United States earlier in the day 7-5; 7-6.

Medvedev, 27, is currently third in the ATP Rankings List. In 2022, Medvedev was the number one ranked tennis player in the world for 16 weeks. He is the 2021 US Open Champion and has 20 ATP tournament titles under his belt. He has won five of those 20 titles this year. Also, in 2021, he won the Davis Cup for the Russian national team as well as the ATP Cup.

Serbia’s Djere is 28 years old and he is currently ranked 65th on the ATP, with two ATP titles to his credit. His best result playing on the Grand Slam circuit was reaching the third round of the French Open (in 2019 and 2021).

The 2023 Halle Open tennis tournament in Germany is being played on outdoor grass courts from June 19-25 and offers over 2.2 million euros ($2.4 million) in prize money. The only Russian to win the tournament was Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who did so three times: in 1997, 1998 and 2002.

Medvedev, who has been playing on the international stage under a neutral status since last year, reached the final of the Halle Open in 2022.

Russian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022 to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also cancelling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.

On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from taking part in the 2022 Davis Cup and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.

However, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) allowed tennis players from Russia and Belarus to continue participating in WTA and ATP tournaments, but only under a neutral status.

However, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) allowed tennis players from Russia and Belarus to continue participating in WTA and ATP tournaments, but only under a neutral status.