Opposed to a nervous Holger Rune who did not seize the opportunities presented to him, Daniil Medvedev won the Masters 1000 in Rome and added a first title on clay to his list.
Daniil Medvedev is no longer cursed on clay! Four years after his only career final on this surface in Barcelona against Dominic Thiem, the Russian was able to get the better of Holger Rune at the conclusion of the Masters 1000 in Rome. A final which first saw the two players firmly hold their position. Indeed, none of the first four games was hooked but the deal quickly changed.
In the process, it was Holger Rune who managed to get the first two break points of this meeting. However, Daniil Medvedev held on to dismiss them and then hold his face-off. The status quo between the two players was then put back in place but the tension went crescendo on the Center Court of the Foro Italico and it was the Dane who ended up cracking. While serving to stay in the first set and get a tiebreak that would have made sense given the scenario, Holger Rune opened the door for Daniil Medvedev and the latter pushed it through without firing a shot.
Rune did not know how to come off
On his first opportunity to take the service of his opponent, the world number 3 concluded a hooked first set which lasted 48 minutes. Visibly exasperated, Holger Rune left the court for a few moments to join the locker room. A break that was beneficial for the world number 7 since he started the second round with a bang.
It was on a white game that he took his opponent’s service, a break that he was able to confirm to lead two games to nothing. However, Daniil Medvedev had resources and was able to pick up very quickly. Indeed, on his second opportunity, the Russian erased his late break to return to two games everywhere. Not destabilized, Holger Rune resumed his march forward and, after a seventh white game, the seeded number 7 of the tournament regained the advantage, offering the opportunity to serve to equalize at one set everywhere.
Medvedev asserts himself before Roland-Garros
It was then that the Dane seemed to be out of the match against an opponent who had raised his level of play. Managing to erase his late break, Daniil Medvedev resisted on his serve by dismissing a new opportunity for Holger Rune to regain control. In the process, Daniil Medvedev kept the pressure on his opponent, who once again gave in. On the second match point, the Russian sealed the fate of this meeting (7-5, 7-5 in 1h43 ‘) and is full of confidence a week before Roland-Garros with his very first career title on clay, the fifth of his season in ten tournaments played.
A title that will allow him to dislodge Novak Djokovic from second place in the world this Monday. For Holger Rune, this second defeat of the season in the final of a Masters 1000 on clay will not only have bad sides since he will be sixth in the world at the start of the French Open, which promises to be very undecided in the notable absence of Rafael Nadal.
