Daniil Medvedev has struggled mightily on clay throughout his career. The Russian is infamous for his 6-0, 6-0 defeat in Monte Carlo last month. The former world number one sparked anger on his way out of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament and was fined for slamming his racket seven times in a match that lasted 49 minutes.
But on Friday, against current world No. 1 Medvedev, Medvedev found himself playing much more time in Rome, which ostensibly has been causing him a lot of trouble over the years. The 30-year-old Medvedev, seeded seventh at the Italian Open, gave his all against top-seeded Italian Yannick Ciner in the semi-finals. The match, which started on Friday, was suspended due to rain and ended on Saturday.
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On Friday, Medvedev stole the third set, threatening Sinner’s record of 32 straight Masters 1000 wins – a record he set on Thursday and surpassing Serbian great Novak Djokovic – and, by extension, Sinner’s equally pioneering winning streak of five straight Masters 1000 titles.
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Ultimately, Sinner emerged unscathed from a match that took a physical toll on him, forced him to slouch and take a medical timeout in the third set. In the end, play was suspended due to rain in the fateful seventh game. Already leading 4-2 after the match was postponed to Saturday, Sinner finished off Medvedev after 15 minutes and advanced to the final with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 victory.
Sinner is one win away from becoming the first Italian to win the Italian Open since Adriano Panatta accomplished the feat in 1976. Sinner reached the final last year as well, losing to rival Carlos Alcaraz, but is currently sidelined with a wrist injury and will not be able to play at Roland Garros.
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Sinner will face Norway’s Casper Ruud in Sunday’s final. The 23rd-seeded Rudd overcame a rain delay to defeat 18th-seeded Luciano Daldelli 6-1, 6-1 on Friday. With his elusive victory in the proverbial backyard, Sinner becomes the first man to win a season in the Masters 1000 on clay since Spanish legend Rafael Nadal in 2010. Additionally, he would win all nine Masters Tournaments by the time he turned 25. To date, Djokovic is the only man to have won each tournament, but he reached that milestone at the age of 31, The Athletic reports.
Sinner’s fast start followed by a difficult second set
On Friday, Sinner took the first set 6-2, but Medvedev took advantage of an early break in the second set to take the lead. Things got interesting from then on.
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The sinner struggled through obvious discomfort. He was unwell and Medvedev was making it worse by winning rallies. The Russian’s drop shots in particular disrupted Sinner’s rhythm.
Sinner tied the score at 5-5 late in the second set. However, Medvedev kept up the pressure and, perhaps to calm down a tired Sinner, he successfully cleared the service point. Medvedev led 6-5 and broke Sinner again, this time taking the third set. He set the stage for the final set with a backhand winner.
Resurrection of sinners, medical timeouts, and rain postponements
Before faltering in the second set, Sinner had won 65 of his last 67 Masters 1000 sets.
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he answered.
He broke Medvedev in the third game of the third set, then whiffed while trying to return a tough bounce midway through the crucial game. After shifting the momentum back to his side, Sinner pumped his fist and let out a roar to the tune of the jubilant Foro Italico crowd.
After sprinting to take Medvedev’s volley, Sinner turned a 2-1 advantage into a 3-1 cushion and added another winner.
Later in the set, Medvedev appeared upset that Sinner was given a medical timeout. Sinner’s thigh was treated during a break in play.
Sinner then added more games and led 4-2 despite the rain starting to fall in Rome. At first, the match continued.
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But Mr Sinner asked about the delay and expressed concern that it might slip up. After some back-and-forth, the game was actually postponed and suspended until Saturday, when play resumed at 10:05 a.m. ET.
