MOSCOW: Russia’s top tennis players Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev cleared Round 3 of the 2023 ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals)...
MOSCOW: Russia’s top tennis players Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev cleared Round 3 of the 2023 ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Italian Open on Monday, which runs from May 9-21 in Rome.
The 2023 ATP 1000 Italian Open is a clay court event that takes place at the Foro Italico sports complex in Rome and offers over 7.7 million euros (some $8.4 million) in prize money.
Daniil Medvedev vs. Miralles
Medvedev, the 3rd-seed at the tournament, lost his first set on Monday against Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles, but then pulled himself together to beat the Spaniard in one hour and 54 minutes 3-6; 6-1; 6-3. The Russian will face the winner of the encounter between J.J. Wolf of the United States and Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the next round.
"I managed to play better. Put more balls in the court and serve better," the ATP’s official website quoted Medvedev as saying after the match. "That is the thing about clay for me."
Medvedev has not seen a lot of success on clay in the past, but is looking to continue his strong play this year and win his fifth ATP title this season, following hard-court triumphs in Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai and Miami.
The 27-year old from Russia is currently ranked 3rd in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Rankings. In 2022, he was the number one ranked tennis player in the world for 16 weeks. He is the 2021 US Open Champion in addition to being the winner of 19 ATP tournaments. Also in 2021, he won the Davis Cup playing fro the Russian national team and won the ATP Cup.
Andrey Rublev vs. Fokina
Andrey Rublev took down another Spaniard, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 7-6 (10-8); 6-3 and is now set to face off against Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann, who defeated Marco Cecchinato earlier in the day 6-4; 4-6; 6-3.
"I am happy. It was another tough battle against Alejandro," Rublev was quoted by the ATP in his on-court interview following his match against Fokina. "Today I was 3/6 down in the tie-break and was really lucky I was able to win the first set. It gave me huge confidence and I think it brought him down mentally."
"That is why I was able to start the second set well," Rublev continued. "It took him time to recover and he was close to coming back, but I was lucky to hold my serve at the end."
Rublev, 25, is currently ranked 6th in the ATP World Rankings and he has 13 ATP tournament titles under his belt. He has also appeared in numerous Grand Slam tournaments, albeit never advancing beyond the quarterfinals.
While playing for the Russian national team, he took home the gold at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo in mixed doubles (with teammate Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova) and also won the 2021 Davis Cup.
Russian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments
In line with international tennis regulations, Russian tennis players are participating in the tournament under a neutral status.
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.
However, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) allowed tennis players from Russia and Belarus to continue participating in WTA and ATP tournaments, but only under a neutral status.
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