Daniil Medvedev saved his first clay-court title for one of the biggest tournaments in the world.
Despite playing on what is–or at least had been–by far his worst surface, Medvedev capped off his run to the Internazionali BNL d’Italia title with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Holger Rune on Sunday evening. The 27-year-old came back from 5-3 down in the second set to win four straight games and triumph after one hour and 40 minutes.
“It was a tough match,” Medvedev assessed. “I think we were both a bit nervous at the start and I think we were both missing our basics. We were missing some easy shots, so I am happy I managed to step it up at the end of the first set. But then at the start of the second set he stepped it up straight away and I was like ‘OK, this is the moment I have to start playing better and go to his level.’ Then it was a top match from this stage.”
“My feeling right now is obviously not the best,” said Rune, who also finished runner-up at last month’s Monte-Carlo Masters before capturing a title in Munich. “But also I have to look at [what] has been a good clay season so far for me. I made three finals out of four tournaments. In that way I can’t complain. As many of you guys know me now, I’m a very eager person to win titles. I’ve been close. Hopefully I will learn from it.”
Medvedev takes No. 2 seed at French Open
By winning the Rome title, Medvedev will move up to No. 2 in the world ahead of Novak Djokovic and secure the second seed at Roland Garros. With Djokovic now seeded third in Paris, the 35-year-old Serb has a 50/50 chance of landing in the same half of the draw as Carlos Alcaraz.
Medvedev has also climbed to No. 1 in the race to Turin.
nice one, Med