Daniil Medvedev hilariously revealed he was surprised by the type of tennis Spain’s Barnabe Zapata Miralles decided to play during theirRome Mastersmeeting. Medvedev, seeded at No 3, recovered from a set down to beat 38th-ranked Zapata Miralles 3-6 6-1 6-3.

Medvedev, 27, and 26-year-old Zapata Miralles played against each other for the first time. “[Zapata Miralles] surprised me. He was going down the line a lot. I thought he was going to play what we usually call the Spanish style — cross, cross, cross till you die,” Medvedev said after the match.

After losing the first set, Medvedev bounced back at the start of the second set as the Russian took an early 3-0 lead. Medvedev earned his second break of the second set in the sixth game for a 5-1 lead, before serving out for the set in the following game.

In the third set, Zapata Miralles had a 3-2 lead through the first five games. Then, Medvedev earned back-to-back breaks and won the next four games to complete a three-set comeback win. “I managed to play better. Put more balls in the court and serve better.

That is the thing about clay for me. At the beginning of the match, you can’t just hit four aces to get your game going. A few double faults and a few missed shots and the first set was over. I started playing better, I knew I had to continue.

It is my third win this season on clay coming from a set down, so I knew I could do it. I am definitely playing my best tennis on clay right now. I have never played so well in Rome or in Madrid. I am feeling great,” Medvedev said.

By beating Zapata Miralles, Medvedev made his first Rome round-of-16 in his fourth appearance at Foro Italico.