ROME — Daniil Medvedev claimed the first claycourt title of his career ahead of the French Open as the Russian world number three beat Denmark’s Holger Rune 7-5 7-5 in a gripping Italian Open final that began after a rain delay.
Medvedev was previously known almost exclusively for his prowess on hard courts, with 18 of his previous 19 titles coming on that surface – the other was on grass in Mallorca. But he now must be considered a contender at the French Open – the clay-court Grand Slam – which starts next Sunday.
There´s room for a new champion at Roland Garros after 14-time winner Rafael Nadal announced on Thursday that he won´t be competing in the tournament because of a lingering hip injury that has sidelined him since January.
“Honestly, I didn´t believe much I can win a Masters 1000 on clay in my career because usually I hated it. I hated playing on it. I don´t feel good on it, like nothing was working,” Medvedev said according to AP.
“(But) before this tournament already in Madrid and Monte Carlo, I was kind of feeling not too bad. I didn´t have any big tantrums,” Medvedev added.
“I came here and I felt amazing on practice. I was like, `I don´t know what´s happening, but I feel amazing. Let´s see how it goes.´ But then you need to play the toughest opponents in the world to try to make it. And I´m really happy that I managed to do it and prove myself and everybody that I´m capable of doing it.”
Medvedev also felt great after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets in the semi-finals, after which he celebrated with a little dance.
Rune, who eliminated six-time Rome champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, should also leave the Foro Italico confident for Paris. He was also the runner-up to Andrey Rublev at the Monte Carlo Masters last month and then won a clay title in Munich.
“Maybe put too many expectations on myself, even though I told myself not to,” Rune said.
“I served probably worse today than I did the recent matches. That´s also a big factor because Medvedev, he likes to grind. If he gets a chance to grind, it´s going to be long rallies, as you saw some of the points were.”
The final started nearly two hours late due to a rain delay – a day after the Medvedev-Tsitsipas match was interrupted by rain suspensions for a total of nearly 4 ½ hours.
When Medvedev broke Rune´s serve to win the first set, he did it by producing a blistering backhand return cross-court winner from deep in the corner and then ran down a drop shot with ease to set up a comfortable forehand winner.
Rune hung his hands on his knees when Medvedev won a draining 21-shot rally midway through the second.
Medvedev missed two swinging forehand volleys to hand Rune a break and a 4-3 lead in the second but Rune couldn´t serve it out and Medvedev evened the set at 5-5 and then broke again in the final game.
When Rune´s forehand was overruled by the chair umpire and called out on Medvedev´s second championship point, Medvedev dropped down to the clay on his knees to celebrate.
“I have to say thanks to Carlos (Bernades, the chair umpire),” Medvedev said. “Because I actually felt the last ball was in. And it was out by far. … Thanks a lot. Otherwise, I would continue the point.”
Medvedev dropped only one set – to Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the third round – over his six matches.
“I mean, who would have thought that I would be standing here? I honestly didn´t,” Medvedev said toward his box during the trophy presentation. “I don´t know about you guys, but I honestly didn´t think so. But it happened.”
