MEDVEDEV FIGHTS BACK TO DENY LANDALUCE AND SET UP SINNER SEMI-FINAL IN ROME
Hope
Former Rome champion Daniil Medvedev produced a dramatic comeback on Thursday to defeat Spain’s Martin Landaluce and book a blockbuster Italian Open semi-final against world number one Jannik Sinner.
The Russian battled from a set down to claim a hard-fought 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory in a thrilling quarter-final clash that lasted two hours and 22 minutes.
Landaluce, who entered the tournament as a lucky loser, stunned Medvedev early on with fearless tennis, dominating the opening set through powerful winners and clever drop shots that left the former world number one struggling for answers.
The 20-year-old Spaniard looked in control after breaking early again in the deciding set, but Medvedev responded when it mattered most.
Trailing 2-3 in the third set, the Russian produced a stunning backhand return winner to break serve and completely change the momentum of the match on Campo Centrale.
That moment sparked Medvedev into life as he won five of the final seven games to secure his place in the Rome semi-finals for the first time since lifting the title in 2023.
Despite failing to convert his first three match points, Medvedev remained composed before finally sealing victory on his fourth opportunity.
“He played unreal at the beginning,” Medvedev said after the match.
“If he plays like he did in the first set of every match, he will be Top 5 by the end of the year.”
The Russian admitted Landaluce’s quality made life extremely difficult throughout the contest.
“When you’re young, it’s tough to play a full match like this, so I just fought. I’m happy that I managed to seal the victory,” he added.
The encounter also featured a 14-minute rain delay during the second set as difficult conditions continued to affect matches in Rome.
Medvedev’s reward is now a huge semi-final showdown against Sinner, who arrives in dominant form after extending his record-breaking ATP Masters 1000 winning streak to 32 matches.
The Italian currently leads their head-to-head record 9-7 heading into the highly anticipated clash.
Despite the defeat, Landaluce leaves Rome with plenty of positives after another breakthrough tournament. The young Spaniard is expected to rise to world number 62 after reaching his second Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season following his impressive run in Miami earlier this year.
