(Rome) Defending Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina won the Rome Open after Ukrainian rival Anhelina Kalinina forfeited early in the second set.

Rybakina was leading 6-4, 1-0 (15-0) when Kalinina asked to see a doctor as she appeared to have pain in her left leg. She then decided that she could not continue acting.

Due to rain delays, the game started at almost 11 p.m. Saturday and ended shortly after midnight Sunday.

This is the most important tournament won by Rybakina on clay, while his only other on this surface was won in Bucharest in 2019.

Rybakina is having a good year so far, having reached the Australian Open final. Shortly after, in the United States, she won the important tournament in Indian Wells, before being a finalist in Miami the following tournament.

On Monday, she will climb to fourth in the world, a career high, and will be considered one of the favorites at Roland-Garros, which begins next weekend.

Kalinina was playing the biggest final of her career and dedicating her performances of the week to her war-affected country.

Kalinina’s family home was destroyed by an attack from Russia last year. His grandparents also had to move from the southern town of Nova Kakhovka, held by Russian forces, to Kyiv.

Kalinina’s parents work as tennis coaches in Kyiv. Kalinina announced on Friday that there had been a “huge, huge bomb near them, near their academy” a few days ago.

Rybakina was born in Moscow but has been representing Kazakhstan since 2018 when the country offered her financial support for her tennis career.

Rune and Medvedev in the final

After his most recent win over Novak Djokovic, Holger Rune delivered another impressive performance on Saturday, coming from behind to knock out fellow Scandinavian Casper Ruud 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-2 in the semi-finals of the Italian Tennis Open.

Rune was down a set and a service break before toppling Ruud, who had won his previous four matches against Rune.

“That’s crazy,” Rune said. I really played my best tennis, especially the last two games, against Djokovic and then Ruud. They are two such difficult players to face, so I had to offer my best tennis. Today I didn’t have it at the start, only at the end, and that’s when I tipped the game. »

Rune improved to 7-1 against players from top 5.

“I play my best tennis when I’m playing against the best in the world,” Rune said. You have no choice against these players. »

As a result, Rune, a 20-year-old Dane, qualified for a third clay-court final in 2023.

On April 23, Rune beat Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in the final match at the Munich tournament. The previous week, he had lost against the Russian Andrey Rublev in the final of the Masters 1000 of Monte Carlo.

“He plays fearless, hits the ball early, which is really impressive to be successful on clay,” Ruud noted of his opponent.

In Sunday’s final, Rune will face Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, who eliminated Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in two identical sets 7-5 after a match was interrupted twice by rain in the first set.

Medvedev wasn’t too bothered by the interruptions, even though these can sometimes hurt the pace of a player with the lead in the game.

“Sometimes it can frustrate you,” Medvedev said. It may upset you. Today, and I don’t know why, but I just laughed about it. »

To watch at Roland-Garros

The Italian Open is the last major tournament before the start of the French Open, which will begin next Sunday in Paris. However, Rune and Ruud are destined to be serious contenders for the title.

The duel between Rune and Ruud was spiced up with plenty of memorable shots, starting with Ruud picking up a drop shot and responding with a delicate and very angular winner in the second game of the clash.

When Ruud attempted the same move later, Rune was ready. Unexpectedly, he managed to retrieve the ball outside the doubles lane and forced Ruud back to the baseline. Rune wrapped up the point with a volley winner, after which the Dane waved his hands asking the crowd to show their appreciation.

After losing serve midway through the second set, Rune requested a medical break to receive treatment on his right shoulder. When the match resumed, Rune took control of it.

He notably slammed a winning forehand timed at 134 km/h on a first serve from his opponent, which allowed him to break Ruud’s serve and win the second set.

Facing constant pressure from Rune, due to the Dane’s speed and ability to cover the entire playing surface, Ruud double faulted which allowed Rune to score an early break in the third set . The Norwegian failed to recover.