Rome Masters 1000: Medvedev and Tsitsipas complied with logic and advanced to the semifinals

After several surprises in recent days, the Rome Masters 1000 lived a day without unexpected results. why Russian Daniel Medvedev and the Greek Stephen Tsitsipas followed logic and advanced to the semifinals of the Italian tournament, the last major event before Roland Garros, defeating the German Yannick Hanfmann and Croatian Born Coric, respectively. And they will meet on Saturday for a seat in the deciding instance.

Medvedev, number three in the world, prevailed with a sensational 6-2 and 6-2 against Hanfmann, 101st in the world. On a cloudy day, but without rain, the Russian controlled the initiative with his flat shots and a powerful first serve to end the adventure of the German, who started in quality and had become the big surprise of the tournament with wins against Taylor Fritz (9th) e Andrei Rublev (6th), among others.

Daniil seems to find his way through the brick dust, a surface he’s always said he “hates.” He usually feels so uncomfortable on these types of fields, that until 2023 he had never won a match at the Foro Italico. He had been fired on his debut in his three previous participations, in 2018, 2019 and 2021. But in this edition he discovered himself.

So far in the tournament he has only lost one set, in the third round against the Spaniard. Bernabe Zapata Miralles. In the round of 16 it fell to the German Alexander Zverev, tough rival on clay. And with the win against Hanfmann, he entered the best four slow courses of a Masters 1000 for the second time in his career. I had already hit that instance in Monte Carlo 2019surprising the Serbian in the quarterfinals Novak Djokoviconly to lose in the semifinal against Dusan Lajovic.

“I probably didn’t feel like this before this tournament, although I remember that before I started playing here, I felt very good in training. It’s complicated, you can always lose in the first round to a great opponent and wonder why you thought that, so it’s better to keep quiet and say nothing,” Medvedev commented.

And he added: “I’m glad I was able to transfer those sensations into the games, which are a whole other story. Maybe this year the training sessions on fresh snow worked. I’m happy I was able to play well and feel good.” , something that hasn’t happened before, I hope to continue like this until the end of this tour”.

Medvedev will face a tough match against Tsitsipas on Saturday, who defeated 15th-seeded Coric 6-3, 6-4 and continues without dropping sets in the Italian Forum. The Greek imposed himself with more sufficiency and effectiveness than brilliance against a rival who had just eliminated the young Hungarian in the round of 16 Fabiano Marozsanthe other big surprise in the race that overtook the Spaniards Carlos Alcaraz.

“This is brick dust, things escalated pretty quickly. But I hit the ball really well and in the important moments I was able to take the pressure. And I ended up serving excellently, feeling the energy in every point,” analyzed the world number five

The Greek will start as favorite in the clash against Medvedev because, in papal terms, he has a better record on powder. Four of his nine titles have been won on this surface, Estoril 2019, Lyon 2021 and Montecarlo in 2021 and 2022. He has also played seven other finals on the orange fields, including that of Barcelona, ​​just under a month ago, lost against Alcaraz. And in Rome, his best result is the final he lost against Djokovic last year.

Likewise, Tsitsipas doesn’t trust himself. “I’m playing well, but so is Daniil,” he reflected. “I feel good on the pitch, whether it’s a day session or a night session, and I really hope to give my best against him. I feel he is playing better than in previous years.”

Saturday will be the 12th meeting between Medvedev and Tsitsipas. The Russian leads the record by 7 to 4. Even if on this type of pitch the direct clash is even 1-1, with a victory for the Muscovite in the round of 16 in Montecarlo 2019 and another for the Athenian in Montecarlo 2019 . quarter finals. Roland Garros 2021.

In the other semifinal they will clash with the Norwegians Casper Ruudfourth favourite, who stalled on Wednesday Francis Cerundoloand Danish Rune Holgerseventh, which gave the big blow to Djokovic.

This Friday will be the turn of the semifinals of the women’s singles and men’s doubles, which will have an Argentinian presence. Why Horace Zeballos and the Spanish Marcel Granollers they will compete for a place in the final of the pairs draw against the Pole Jan Zielinski and the Monegasque Hugo Nysin a first round duel, from 8 in our country.

In the meantime, the finalists of the women’s draw will be defined from 10:30. The first will come out of the confrontation between the Russians Veronica Kudermetova12th in the standings, and the Ukrainian anhelina kalinina, 47th. And the second, of the match that the Latvian will play Elena Ostapenko20 and Kazakh Elena Rybakinasixth and who beat the Pole by abandonment Iga Swiateknumber one in the world, in the quarterfinals.