Daniil Medvedev offers Stefanos Tsitsipas and goes to the final of the Masters 1000 in Rome

It’s unlikely enough to be underlined, but Daniil Medvedev is in the final of a Masters 1000 on clay. For years, the Russian has been quick to say how much he hates this surface on which his counter game struggles to express himself and where he finds that he soils his socks too much. But this year, everything has changed. Already quarter-finalist in Monte-Carlo, here is Medvedev in the Rome final after a solid win over Stefanos Tsitsipasnot the first comer on ochre.

Rain, a major player in the match

Apart from his acclimatization on the surface, Medvedev above all better managed the long (several hours) interruption due to the rain. Both, even, since after returning to the court after a first stoppage at 4-4 in the first set, the two men returned to the locker room after having played a single game. back on the court. And, like his box where his parents argued without hiding, Tsitsipas was not at his best. Once the match really restarted, Medvedev was therefore in the lead. It remained to be seen whether the Greek would react.

Broken from the start of the second set, Tsitsipas managed to forget his cumbersome parents to refocus on the match. Resolutely offensive, he jostled Medvedev, deprived him of time and managed to unbreak to come back to 3-3. The rest turned into a showdown with a much sharper Tsitsipas and a Medvedev often in need of a solution. But it doesn’t take much for the Russian to pull out of the game. And the four titles already won this season give him a cushion of confidence that is very useful in difficult times. A smash from Tsitsipas which catches the net and the ping behind him offered the break at the best time (6-5). Barely disturbed by the flash of a spectator, once again perfect in the management of amortized, Medvedev did not tremble. More than six hours after the start of the match (1h47 of play in all), he offered himself the right to face Holger Rune in the final.