Daniil Medvedev will be Holger Rune’s opponent in the first final at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia without at least one between Nadal and Djokovic in 18 years. The Muscovite defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 75 75, thus achieving his first victory on a Top 10 on clay since 2019. Medvedev thus finds himself one victory away from his twentieth title in twenty different tournaments.
In the final, he aims to take revenge on the Dane who eliminated Novak Djokovic here and defeated Casper Ruud in the semifinal. Medvedev and Rune, still undefeated against the Top 5, met a few weeks ago in the quarterfinals in Monte-Carlo: the Dane won in straight sets.
Number 1 in the Race that determines the qualifiers towards the Nitto ATP Finals, so far Medvedev had hit one Masters 1000 semifinal on clay at most, in Monte-Carlo in 2019. On that occasion he lost against that Dusan Lajovic who would later give up to Fabio Fognini a historic title for Italian tennis.
In the same tournament Medvedev beat Tsitsipas in the round of 16, who instead won his only ‘1000’ titles on ‘red’ with the 2021-2022 double in the Principality.
In this match with so many breaks, one at 4-4 and then another at 5-4 in the first set, which lasted a total of more than four hours, the best performance with service and return by Medvedev who won sixty points at 48 in the rallies that lasted less than nine bouts. And at the end of the game he allows himself a ballet, an indirect response to the one with which Tsitsipas celebrated a success over Medvedev in Cincinnati last year. “I was very happy for the victory, even if I don’t often dance after a success – he said in the press conference after the match -. They showed me this right after the game, I thought: this is ridiculous. In a year or in a month it will be a fun memory. I felt great, I reached the first final in a Masters 1000 on clay. I’m very happy, but I certainly won’t start dancing after every game I win.”
Everyone do The Meddy 😂🕺🏻#IBI23 @DaniilMedwed pic.twitter.com/Y8wPYeXelc
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 20, 2023
So before the break
The rain becomes the protagonist even before the start of the match, delayed by judge Mohamed Lahyani due to the slipperiness of the lines which do not guarantee the safety of the players. Finally we leave and Medvedev immediately puts the record straight, recovering from 0-30 and breaking Tsitsipas’ serve in the opening thanks to a forehand winner on a second from the Greek.
34 minutes after the start, the Swedish judge of Egyptian origin announces the suspension of the match, immediately after seeing the tennis player from Athens restore the score to 4-4 by forehanding the Russian who does not fail to point out Lahyani his disappointment with the decision on the conditions of play taken, in his opinion, too late. It starts again after almost three hours, a game is played and then it rains again. (T.Mangiapane)
So after the shoot
At the second half, and another abundant hour is needed, Medvedev increases the depth on the diagonal of the backhand. Tsitsipas, convinced that he can do nothing but throw full-arm to break through, suffers a decisive break in the eleventh game to make it 40-0, complete with a double fault on the break point, then turns to his mother and doesn’t seem exactly satisfied. Medvedev goes to serve for the set at 6-5, and closes at the second opportunity.
The Russian, on the court as a neutral athlete, wins the first set on clay against a Top 10 player from Barcelona 2019. He is centered, confident in moving even when sliding, effective with service and return. Tsitsipas, who would also have more time on clay, ended up withdrawing. And despite the winning 13 to 7, he paid for the free 18 to 11 and only twelve points won in baseline rallies against Medvedev’s 21.
The former world number 1 starts better also in the second. Tsitsipas wins a point in response in the first four games, but from 1-3 the game changes. Medvedev makes more mistakes, the gredo recovers the break from disadvantage and a chorus starts from the stands “Tsi-tsi-pas! Tsi-tsi-pas!”. The Greek now wins the exchanges played on the left diagonal, and tactically yet another game begins. Medvedev, who has tiring gestures and twisted movements, loses depth. He struggles to move up the field, while Tsitsipas verticalizes with greater frequency and growing conviction.
But a tape, which would have satisfied Woody Allen (every reference to Match Point is purely intentional), shifts the balance of the game for the last time. The deflection stops Tsitsipas’s smash, slipped by an otherwise impossible passerby along the line. Thus Medvedev places the break which leads him to serve for the match. And from here to victory.