Jannik Sinner beats Danil Medvedev and reaches the final of the Italian Open , where he will face Norway's Casper Ruud. The world number one, who withstood some dramatic moments yesterday, concluded the rain-suspended match today by winning 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in two hours and 34 minutes .
But let's proceed in order, because yesterday was a difficult day for fans and players, with rain postponing matches. It was even more difficult for Jannik Sinner, who after a near-perfect first set suffered a significant drop in energy, including tremors, hyperventilation, and vomiting . He had to give it his all to stay in the match and even advance before the rain interrupted his semifinal.
The afternoon began with Luciano Darderi , who was at his wits' end after three point-by-point battles, particularly the one with Jodar that had kept him busy until 2 a.m. The Italian-Argentine fell flat to Casper Ruud, 6-1, 6-1 .
Then it was Sinner-Medvedev's turn. The start was predictable, with a practically flawless Jannik going 4-0 up and closing out the first set 6-2 . But the world number one's troubles began early in the second set: more difficulty with his movements, less energy in his shots. On the other hand, Medvedev stepped up his game, understanding Sinner's difficulties and starting to spin his own web, aided by the heavy court: prolonged rallies on the diagonal, plenty of drop shots to wear him down, and virtually no errors for almost an hour of play.
The Russian takes a 3-0 lead, but Sinner, with heart and class, catches him, tying the score at 3-0. He tries to get the crowd to cheer him on, calling for applause and cheers like he almost never gets to do. The 10,000 people at the Foro respond. Medvedev serves until 6-5, but against an exhausted Jannik, he breaks the set in the twelfth game .
Sinner is in crisis, leaning on his racket between points, and at times during changeovers he can be seen shaking and breathing with enormous difficulty. He even vomits, mother Siglinde leaves the stadium, and the thousands of spectators at the Foro hold their breath . The Italian, however, puts his heart and soul into the game, begins to shorten his rallies, and in the third and decisive set he even finds some more energy and slowly begins to recover, quickly taking the lead: at 1-1, a splendid backhand down the line and Medvedev's first errors in several dozen minutes give him the break, accompanied by a scream from Jannik that testifies to the difficulty of the match and the moment . Then the world number 1 has his thigh treated by the physiotherapist, while Medvedev complains: "If he has cramps, he can't ask for help." True, but no one knows if Sinner has cramps, and he hasn't declared it, the referee explains to him. The South Tyrolean also had a chance to double-break at 3-1, but Medvedev cancelled it and came back. At 4-2, another chance for a double-break, but the Russian cancelled it again as a deluge of rain broke out in Rome and the umpire was forced to suspend play (Sinner had already asked him a few points earlier, "What if I slip on the lines?"). The score was 6-2, 5-7, 4-2 for Sinner and Medvedev ahead (with the Russian serving) .
Today, a quick refinement session and then back on court at 4 p.m. Medvedev immediately hits an ace to go 3-4 up, but Sinner isn't far behind, hitting two more to take a 5-3 lead by holding serve. He then earns two match points on the Russian's serve, which he cancels with two excellent first serves to take the lead at 4-5. The deciding game is a tough one, with the South Tyrolean level at 30-all with two errors, but Jannik doesn't falter: first serve and forehand to make it 40-30, and then, at the end of a rally in which Medvedev recovers everything, he hits a backhand winner on match point to close out the match at 6-4, after being on court for just under a quarter of an hour .
The world number 1's words at the end of today's brief effort: "Yesterday we somehow managed to finish the day, but I barely slept at all. Thank you all for your support. Now we'll see what happens tomorrow, but I'm happy. I need to rest and hope to play a good match. This is a special court, ever since I played there for the first time in 2019 as a wild card. Last year, the final didn't go the way we wanted. We'll try again and see what happens."
In short, the efforts of three months without a break, winning every match he's played (28 including today), are starting to take their toll. It's no coincidence that no one, before Sinner, had managed to win the first four Masters 1000s of the season, at a time when he also has to manage the delicate transition from American hard courts to European clay. Tomorrow, Sunday, May 17th, is the final push, followed by a week of rest before Roland Garros. In the final, Sinner faces Casper Ruud, who has already beaten Lorenzo Musetti (half-injured) and Luciano Darderi in this tournament. A great player, especially on clay (two finals in Paris, as well as one at the US Open), he's back in great form in this tournament. In the head-to-head matches, there's no contest: 4-0 for Jannik, who has never lost a set against Ruud and in fact last year, right here in Rome, in the quarterfinals, gave him a stern lesson, defeating him 6-0, 6-1 . But every match is a story in itself, and it remains to be seen how Sinner gets there. Will he have the energy to win his fifth title of the season, his 29th consecutive victory (34th if you consider the Masters 1000s alone), and his sixth straight Masters 1000 title? And to bring an Italian back to win the Rome tournament fifty years after Adriano Panatta.
Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori also reached the final , having defeated Harrison-Skupski 7-6, 3-6, 10-6 and faced the pair formed by the Spaniard Marcel Granollers and the Argentine Horacio Zeballos.