Tennis

Daniil Medvedev wins his first clay-court tournament

Published

3 years ago

May 21, 2023

Nancy

Daniil Medvedev wins his first clay-court tournament

PHOTO GREGORIO BORGIA, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Daniel Medvedev

(Rome) Daniil Medvedev had not won a match in his three previous appearances at the Italian Open.

Now he is the title holder.

The Russian defeated 20-year-old Dane Holger Rune in straight sets 7-5, 7-5 on Sunday to claim his first career title in a clay-court tournament.

PHOTO ALEKSANDRA SZMIGIEL, REUTERS

Holger Rune

Medvedev, who was once world number one and won the US Open in 2021, was previously renowned for his prowess on hard courts. He signed 18 of his 19 titles on this surface and the exception occurred on the grass in Mallorca.

Medvedev will now be seen as a contender for the title at Roland Garros, the only major tournament played on clay.

And there is room for a new champion at this tournament, after Rafael Nadal, who has won the French Open on 14 occasions, announced he would not take part in the tournament this year due to injury. at the hip.

“Honestly, I didn’t believe I could win a Masters 1000 on clay during my career because I hated it. I hated that surface and didn’t feel good on it. But even before this tournament, I felt pretty good in Madrid and Monte Carlo.

PHOTO FILIPPO MONTEFORTE, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Daniel Medvedev

“I came here, I felt extraordinarily good in training. I am very happy that I was able to prove myself and to have been able to prove to everyone that I was capable of winning on clay,” Medvedev stressed.

Medvedev also felt good after beating Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets in the semi-finals. He even celebrated his victory with a little dance.

Rune, who knocked out six-time Roma champion Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals, is also expected to leave Foro Italico with a lot of confidence ahead of the Roland-Garros tournament. He lost in the final in Monte-Carlo before triumphing on clay in Munich.

When the new men’s world rankings are released on Monday, Medvedev will move up to second place as Carlos Alcaraz returns to the top. Djokovic will go from the first to the third level. They will be the first three seeds in Paris.

Source: lapresse

Nancy

I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.

Tennis

Veterans Cilic and Wawrinka reached the 1/16 final at the Aus Open. Djokovic’s reaction

Published

1 hour ago

January 22, 2026

Nancy

Veterans Cilic and Wawrinka reached the 1/16 final at the Aus Open. Djokovic’s reaction

37-year-old Croatian tennis player Marin Cilic (ATP 70) and a 40-year-old Swiss Stan Wawrinka Reached the 1/16 final at the 2026 Australian Open.

Cilic defeated 21st seed Denis Shapovalov (Canada, ATP 23) in three sets in 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Marin started the Australian Open with a win over Daniel Altmaier. His next opponent will be Casper Ruud, who is ranked 13th in the ATP rankings.

Cilic achieved his 599th career win at the ATP level, equaling Goran Ivanisevic for the most wins by a Croatian tennis player in the Open era.

Australian Open 2026. 1/32 final

Denis Shapovalov (Canada) [21] – Marin Cilic (Croatia) – 4:6, 3:6, 2:6

Wawrinka, who is in the final season of his career, won in 4 hours and 33 minutes in a five-set thriller against Arthur Gea (France, ATP 198) in the second round of the Aus Open. This fight is the longest fight in slam so far.

This match marked the 49th five-setter match of Stan’s career in Grand Slam tournaments; He surpassed Roger Federer (48) and became the sole owner of the Open Era record in this indicator.

Since the introduction of the 128-player draw across the four Grand Slams in 1987, Wawrinka became the oldest player to achieve multiple wins at a single major, at 40 years and 296 days.

Stan started AO-2026 with a victory over Laszlo Gyore. His next opponent will be world number 9 Taylor Fritz.

Australian Open 2026. 1/32 final

Arthur Hea (France) [Q] – Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) [WC] – 6:4, 3:6, 6:3, 5:7, 6:7 (3:10)

Besides Cilic and Wawrinka, 38-year-old Novak Djokovic from Serbia also qualified for the 1/16 final at the Aus Open on January 22. After the end of the match day, Novak published a post in his story with the match result and Marin and Stan’s results and signed:

“There is no coup without the old man” translated from Serbian means: “There is no coup without the old man.”

Source: Sport UA

Nancy

I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.

Tennis

The first big sensation occurred in the Australian Open 2026 women’s draw

Published

2 hours ago

January 22, 2026

Nancy

The first big sensation occurred in the Australian Open 2026 women’s draw

Swiss tennis player Belinda Bencic (WTA 10) was sensationally eliminated from the 2026 Australian Open.

In the second round, Switzerland was defeated by the Czech Republic representative in three sets. Nikola Bartunkova (WTA 126) in 2 hours 13 minutes.

Australian Open 2026. 1/32 final

Nikola Bartunkova (Czech Republic) – Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) [10] – 6:3, 0:6, 6:4

Bartunkova and Bencic played each other for the first time.

Belinda lost her first match of 2026. She started the season in the United Cup, where she defeated Iga Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini, among others.

19-year-old Nicola started the Aus Open with the qualifiers. In the first round of the main draw, Bartunkova will compete with Elise Merets after eliminating Daria Kasatkina.

For the first time in her career, Bartunkova beat a tennis player in the top 10 of the WTA rankings. This was also the first defeat of a tennis player ranked in the top 10 at the Australian Open.

Source: Sport UA

Nancy

I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.

Tennis

Australian Open Denis Shapovalov loses in second round

Published

3 hours ago

January 22, 2026

Nancy

Australian Open Denis Shapovalov loses in second round

(Melbourne) Denis Shapovalov lost sharply 6-4, 6-3 and 6-2 to Marin Cilic in the second round of the Australian Open tennis tournament on Thursday.

Shapovalov, the 21^e seeded in the tournament, fell to the Croatian, who was finalist at Melbourne Park in 2018, thus leveling the record between the two tennis players at 3-3 in their careers.

As for Cilic, who is 37 years old, he reached the third round of the first major tournament of the season for the first time since 2022. He will face the winner of the duel between the Spaniard Jaume Munar and the Norwegian Casper Ruud, 12^e seeded.

The Canadian did not seem to be in his right mood during his match against Cilic. He was notably limited to 12 winning shots, committed 42 unforced errors, and seven double faults during their match.

Moreover, Shapovalov was very generous towards his opponent, 70^e world racket. He conceded six breaks in 12 chances to Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open winner, and converted only two of his six break points.

For the 26-year-old Ontarian, it was a fourth defeat in his last five matches.

There is therefore only one representative of the maple leaf left in the singles tables of the Australian Open: Victoria Mboko.

The Ontarian, the 17^e seeded, will face the Danish Clara Tauson, 14^e seeded, in the third round in the evening on Thursday.

Her compatriot, the Ontarian Gabriela Dabrowski, and her Brazilian playing partner, Luisa Stefani, will play their second round doubles match against the French Elsa Jacquemot and the Colombian Emiliana Arango, in the evening.

Source: lapresse

Nancy

I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.