Daniil Medvedev on Monday continued his Internazionali BNL d’Italia title defense with a hard-fought 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 7-5 win over qualifier Hamad Medjedovic as the men’s tournament was left wide open by big-name exits, the latest being fourth seed Andrey Rublev.
The second seed has a great opportunity to win his first tournament of the year, but is likely to be drained by a match that lasted 2 hours, 50 minutes and suggested that 20-year-old Medjedovic is a far superior player than his world ranking of 121.
“I’m not really pleased. I felt like I started the match well, and then in a way it was only going downhill,” Medvedev said. “I’m happy that by not playing my best I could win and tomorrow I’m going to try to find my best tennis.”
Photo: AP
Rome is missing the world’s top three men following Novak Djokovic’s third-round elimination on Saturday, with Italian world No. 2 Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz withdrawing ahead of the event. Rublev, fresh from claiming the Madrid title, suffered a shock third-round defeat by French qualifier Alexandre Muller, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Sixth seed and reigning Monte Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas is still in the fray after beating Cameron Norrie in straight sets 6-2, 7-6 (7/1), but is concerned at the impact of a punishing schedule on the top players.
“The extension of the days in the Masters 1000s I think plays a massive role and contributes a lot to the fact that these players are getting injured,” Tsitsipas said.
In the women’s singles, Elina Svitolina again refused to shake hands with Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka after losing their first meeting since their row at last year’s French Open.
Belarusian second seed Sabalenka came back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (9/7) to beat Ukrainian Svitolina, who following their quarter-final at Roland Garros last year accused Sabalenka of inflaming tensions surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war by insisting on a handshake that was not going to come.
Ukrainian players have refused to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian rivals in protest at the ongoing war and Svitolina again walked straight to her chair after the match.
Sabalenka will face world No. 10 Jelena Ostapenko in the quarter-finals after squeezing past two-time Rome winner Svitolina in a brilliant match for those who stayed late in the center court stands.
The 26-year-old, who has never won in Rome, but is a two-time champion on the Madrid clay, has a chance to match her 2022 run to the last four in front of a crowd who were on her side and roared with delight after she won a thrilling tiebreak at the second time of asking.
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek has yet to drop a set after beating Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3 and is favorite for a third Rome crown before she begins her French Open title defense later this month.
Swiatek is next to face Madison Keys, whose 6-2, 6-1 win over Sorana Cirstea was suspended for half an hour by a court invasion from climate activists.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
RSS