Medvedev stops upstart Rune, claims some clay cred

ROME — Daniil Medvedev hadn’t won a single match in his three previous appearances at the Italian Open.

Now he’s won the tournament.

The Russian beat rising 20-year-old Danish player Holger Rune, 7-5, 7-5, on Sunday for the first clay-court trophy of a career that includes the 2021 U.S. Open title and a period at No. 1 in the rankings.

Medvedev was previously known almost exclusively for his prowess on hard courts, with 18 of his previous 19 titles coming on that surface — the other was on grass in Mallorca. But he now must be considered a contender at the French Open — the clay-court Grand Slam — which starts next Sunday.

There’s room for a new champion at Roland Garros after 14-time winner Rafael Nadal announced on Thursday that he won’t be competing in the tournament because of a lingering hip injury that has sidelined him since January.

“Honestly, I didn’t believe much I can win a Masters 1000 on clay in my career because usually I hated it. I hated playing on it. I don’t feel good on it, like nothing was working,” Medvedev said.

“[But] before this tournament already in Madrid and Monte Carlo, I was kind of feeling not too bad. I didn’t have any big tantrums," Medvedev added. "I came here and I felt amazing on practice ...  I’m really happy that I managed to do it and prove to myself and everybody that I’m capable of doing it.”

Medvedev also felt great after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets in the semifinals, after which he celebrated with a little dance.

Rune, who eliminated six-time Rome champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, should also leave the Foro Italico confident for Paris. He was also the runner-up to Andrey Rublev at the Monte Carlo Masters last month and then won a clay title in Munich.

“Maybe put too many expectations on myself, even though I told myself not to,” Rune said. "I served probably worse today than I did the recent matches. That’s also a big factor because Medvedev, he likes to grind. If he gets a chance to grind, it’s going to be long rallies, as you saw some of the points were.”

When the new rankings are released Monday, Medvedev will rise to No. 2 and Carlos Alcaraz will return to No. 1, while Djokovic will drop from No. 1 to No. 3. Alcaraz, Medvedev and Djokovic therefore will be seeded first, second and third, respectively, at the French Open.

In the Italian women's final late Saturday night, Elena Rybakina was leading 6-4, 1-0, 15-0, when her opponent, Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine retired because of a left thigh injury. 

Navratilova honored

Martina Navratilova, who announced in January that she had been diagnosed with throat cancer and breast cancer, received the Golden Racket award while attending the Italian Open on Sunday.

“I’ve gone through a very difficult year but now I’m OK,” the 18-time major singles champion and member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame said.

Navratilova, 66, returned to her work as a TV analyst at Tennis Channel in March, when in an interview with TalkTV’s Piers Morgan, she said she was told by doctors that, “as far as they know, I’m cancer-free,” and she should be “good to go” after some additional radiation treatment.

Navratilova won 59 major titles overall, including 31 in women’s doubles and 10 in mixed doubles. The last was a mixed doubles championship with Bob Bryan at the 2006 U.S. Open, a month shy of her 50th birthday.

Murray out of French

Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray, 36, has withdrawn from the clay-court French Open, organizers said.

Murray lost in the first round of the Italian Open last week and was then beaten 6-3, 6-0 by fellow veteran Stan Wawrinka at an ATP Challenger event in Bordeaux on Wednesday. He is expected to concentrate now on his best surface, grass, for Wimbledonl, which begins July 3.