(Rome) The Russian Daniil Medvedev, seeded N.3, won his first clay court tournament on Sunday by winning the final of the Masters 1000 in Rome against the Dane Holger Rune (N.7) 7-5, 7 -5.
Medvedev, whom nobody expected at such a party in a tournament where he had never won a match in his three previous participations, won the 20e title of his career, of which 18 were obtained on hard courts and one on grass.
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PHOTO ALEKSANDRA SZMIGIEL, REUTERS
Holger Rune
With this triumph, the Russian will become world No.2 on Monday ahead of Novak Djokovic, pushed back to third place in a ranking which will be dominated by the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, which will be important for the tables of Roland-Garros which begins in a week.
For the second final of his career on ocher, after the one lost in Barcelona in 2019, Medvedev, 27, gave a lesson to his young opponent of 20, who fell holder Djokovic in the quarter-finals, during a match where he was able to be particularly opportunistic in the end of the set.
“I hated clay, now I definitely like it a little more,” laughed the Russian, who had always lost his first match in his three previous appearances in 2018, 2019 and 2021.