Another ATP Masters 1000 event, another deep run for Holger Rune.

The Dane defeated Top 5 stars Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, before Daniil Medvedev stopped him in the title match. Despite disappointment in Sunday’s final, the 20-year-old leaves Rome holding a 13-3 record on clay this season, with plenty of positives heading into Roland Garros.

“My feeling right now is obviously not the best. But also I have to look at [what] has been a good clay season so far for me,” Rune said. “I made three finals out of four tournaments. In that way I can’t complain. As many of you guys know me now, I’m a very eager person to win titles. I’ve been close. Hopefully I will learn from it.”

Rune, who reached the final at the clay-court Masters 1000 event in Monte-Carlo last month, has climbed one spot to No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his run in Rome.

In a tight final, the seventh seed twice squandered a break advantage in the second set against Medvedev, who lifted his first clay-court tour-level trophy and sixth ATP Masters 1000 trophy. Rune was frustrated that he was unable to find his best level at all times against the 27-year-old.

“I think I was very nervous stepping into the match. Obviously came through from a great match yesterday [against Ruud]. Maybe I put too many expectations on myself, even though I told myself not to,” Rune said. “He played great. He played really solid from the back of the court… I’m happy for him. It’s his first title on clay. I think he has a good future also in clay. He’s a great player on all courts.”

Rune won only 52 per cent (17/32) of his first-serve points against Medvedev, losing serve four times.

“I served probably worse today than I did the recent matches,” Rune said. “That’s also a big factor because Medvedev, he likes to grind. If he gets a chance to grind, it’s going to be long rallies, as you saw some of the points were. Obviously a good serve is helping a lot against him. I couldn’t find it today.”

Rune will next head to Roland Garros, where he reached the quarter-finals last year. He shared his thoughts on who he thinks will be the main challengers for the title when asked by a journalist in Sunday’s press conference.

“I still think Novak [Djokovic] is the main favourite for the event,” Rune said. “He’s the one with the most Slams of who’s playing, the most experienced. Then we have [Carlos] Alcaraz. We have Medvedev. We have a lot of guys. I think if I have to pick one favourite, I’ll probably pick Novak.”

The Roland Garros qualifying draw was released on Sunday. Qualifying action will begin in Paris on Monday with main draw play to start next Sunday.

The qualifying field includes Fabian Marozsan, who stunned Carlos Alcaraz at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome. The Hungarian is competing in Grand Slam qualifying for just the second time after losing in the first round at the Australian Open.

The top seed is Aslan Karatsev. The former World No. 14 has shown good form on clay this season, reaching the semi-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open as a qualifier. Karatsev will play Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the first round.

Rome quarter-finalist Yannick Hanfmann is the second seed. The German upset ninth seed Taylor Fritz and sixth seed Andrey Rublev at the Foro Italico.

Other players to watch in qualifying include 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals competitors Dominic Stricker, Francesco Passaro and Chun-Hsin Tseng.

After nearly six weeks away, Jack Draper returned to ATP Tour action in style on Sunday at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon.

The Briton charged past home favourite Alexandre Muller 6-2, 6-3 on debut at the clay-court ATP 250 in France. Draper did not face a break point and converted three from six of his own to seal a 75-minute triumph.

“I thought I played good today,” said Draper. “Alex played some amazing tennis. Obviously he had [the crowd] behind him and it was a good level match. So I’m happy with the way I played today.”

Draper’s 2023 season has so far included a semi-final run in Adelaide and a fourth-round run in Indian Wells, but he did not compete in Madrid or Rome due to an abdominal injury. Now fit again to compete and having posted an impressive opening win in Lyon, the 21-year-old will take on fifth seed Miomir Kecmanovic or Oriol Roca Batalla in the second round.

Gregoire Barrere showed no sign of nerves on home soil Sunday at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon, where he took down countryman Corentin Moutet 6-4-6-2 to reach the second round at the ATP 250.

“I’m really happy to be in the second round here,” said Barrere after his 90-nminute triumph. “I always like to play in France, I play every tournament in France. For me it was a good first round, I played really good. I stayed focused during the whole match, so it was a good match for me.”

Barrere arrived in France fresh from a third-round run in Rome, where he notched one of the biggest wins of his career against World No. 11 Karen Khachanov. The 29-year-old, currently No. 55 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, has another opportunity to claim a Top 20 scalp in the second round in Lyon when he takes on Tommy Paul.

“He’s a really good player. He made the semis in the Australian Open at the beginning of the year, so he’s improving a lot,” said Barrere of the American World No. 17. “It will be a fun match for me, a very interesting match, and I hope to be ready and to play well and to beat him.”

In the other first-round match on Sunday’s schedule in Lyon, Juan Pablo Varillas prevailed 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 in a three-hour, 11-minute marathon against Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Varillas, who reached his maiden ATP Tour semi-final on clay in February in Buenos Aires, will take on fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo next.

Twenty-five years on from claiming the coveted college ‘triple crown’, U.S. Davis Cup captain Bob Bryan remembers his three years playing college ball with twin brother Mike Bryan at Stanford as “literally the most fun we’ve ever had in tennis”.

The greatest doubles team in tennis history is on hand at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Florida this week for the NCAA Championships, where they will be inducted into the ITA Men’s Collegiate Tennis Hall Of Fame.

“Playing for the pride of the programme and playing for our brothers, there was nothing like it,” said Bob, who won the NCAA Singles and Doubles (w/Mike) titles in 1998, and helped Stanford to the teams trophy, a feat that has been matched just once since (Matias Boeker, University of Georgia, 2001). “Just the passion and enthusiasm we felt every time we stepped on the court was on another level.”

In Stanford’s astonishing 1998 season, the team lost a combined three individual points. “I challenge any other team to pull that off,” Bob said. “By the stats our ’98 Stanford team is the greatest in history.”

Bob said that three years with the Cardinal under the guidance of Dick Gould was the foundation that he and Mike needed to embark on their historic ATP Tour career, which netted a jaw-dropping 119 titles together, including 16 majors. Mike agrees.

“Our time at Stanford remains among our greatest years in the sport,” Mike said. “It was so much fun being on a team. And we needed college tennis because we came out of high school pretty undercooked emotionally, socially, and we were small, so we needed to grow. And learning under Dick Gould, who was like a great army General, was key. He helped us grow as people as well as tennis players.

“It was a great springboard for the tour. If we would have turned pro too early, I think we would have been chewed up and spit out.”

Mike fondly recalls when Stanford denied the University of Georgia – and their intense fans – on its home soil in Athens in the NCAA final in 1998.

“It made all the other Davis Cup ties we played in the future a piece of cake because the Barking Bulldogs were nasty,” Mike recalled. “They’re loud. They yelled obscenities… that was kind of the most scared we’ve ever been walking out onto a tennis court.

“I remember one of our guys said “Don’t do the chest bump. Don’t even try it man. They’re gonna eat you alive.’ But we got through it and we had that stellar team that was undefeated. We then put on another run after that by winning the doubles and Bob took the triple crown, which was cool and we got the wild card into the US Open. Dick Gould actually pulled us into his office. He said: ‘You guys are ready, it’s time to turn pro.’”

Looking ahead to Sunday’s induction into the ITA Hall of Fame, Bob said: “It means a lot and it’s given us a great opportunity to come to Orlando and see a lot of the coaches that we faced and former players that we played against and just reminisce on all the just the beautiful memories that we made in college.

“It’s a great community of players and we’re super stoked to be here and receiving that honour.”

Mike also lent his support to the new college accelerator programme, an initiative between the ATP and ITA, which will award wild cards into ATP Challenger Tour events to the Top-20 ranked ITA college players.

“It’s great because the level in college tennis is amazing. And it just gives guys a better opportunity once they leave college to jump into the tour because it’s a long road sometimes if you start from scratch,” Mike said.

Daniil Medvedev is one set away from capturing first clay-court trophy and sixth ATP Masters 1000 crown after he won the opening set against Holger Rune 7-5 on Sunday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

After the start of the final was delayed by one hour and 40 minutes due to rain, the 27-year-old came out and produced a clean-hitting, consistent display in the first set. He sat deep behind the baseline and absorbed pressure on the red clay in Rome against the seventh seed Rune, who is aiming to win his second Masters 1000 title and first on clay.

Medvedev had never won a match in three previous appearances in Rome before this season. He has produced some of his best clay-court tennis in the Italian capital this fortnight, though, defeating 2017 champion Alexander Zverev and 2022 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Medvedev has won four tour-level titles this season, including his fifth Masters 1000 trophy in Miami last month. He is first in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin and will move to No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings if he can earn a Tour-leading 39th win of the season against Rune.

Rune is trying to become the youngest player to win the title in Rome since then-19-year-old Rafael Nadal lifted the trophy in 2006. The Dane defeated Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud en route to the final, and is chasing his eighth consecutive win against a Top 5 opponent in the title match against World No. 3 Medvedev.

Rune triumphed at the Rolex Paris Masters last year and is up one spot to No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his run to the final on debut in Rome. Earlier this season, the Dane defeated Medvedev en route to the title match in Monte-Carlo, before he captured his fourth tour-level crown in Munich.

Marco Cecchinato found his groove against the lively lefty serve of Ben Shelton on Sunday at the Gonet Geneva Open, where the Italian downed the #NextGenATP American 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 at the ATP 250.

Taking on one of the ATP Tour’s brightest young talents for the first time, Cecchinato converted four of his 11 break points in the first-round encounter. He rallied from 3-5 to take the first set and dominated the third to clinch a two-hour, two-minute triumph.

Cecchinato also reached the second round in Geneva in 2021 and 2022. The World No. 83 will attempt to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in four appearances when he takes on home favourite Marc-Andrea Huesler or Wu Yibing next in Switzerland.

The 30-year-old Cecchinato, who has lifted all three of his ATP Tour titles on clay, is now 10-6 for the year. He has won a match at every tournament he has played in 2023. With Sunday’s triumph against Shelton, Cecchinato improved his record in ATP Tour opening rounds this year to 7-0.

Also on Sunday in Geneva, Christopher Eubanks enjoyed a 7-6(2), 6-3 win against Benoit Paire in his maiden tour-level match on clay. The American’s reward for his 75-minute victory is a second-round clash against third seed Alexander Zverev.

The men’s singles final between Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia is suspended due to rain. The championship match was due to commence at 4:00 p.m. at the Foro Italico.

When they take to court in Rome, Medvedev will be playing for his sixth ATP Masters 1000 crown and first on clay, while Rune will be chasing his second title at this level. Medvedev has defeated seeds Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the final. Rune, who is making his debut in Rome, earned Top 5 wins against Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud earlier this week.

Holger Rune has quickly become a Top 10 titan.

With his win against World No. 4 Casper Ruud in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia semi-finals Saturday, the Dane is now 8-3 against Top 10 opponents in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings since the start of the Rolex Paris Masters six-and-a-half months ago.

The 19-year-old went 5-0 against Top 10 players during his historic Paris-Bercy run and has won his past seven matches against Top 5 opponents (7-1 overall). He has defeated World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Ruud en route to the final in Rome, where he will face World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev for the crown.

Record vs. Top 10 (Active Players)

Rune and World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz have been more than a match for the best players on the ATP Tour. Among active players, only Novak Djokovic (69%) and Rafael Nadal (64.6%) have a better winning percentage against Top 10 opposition.

Rune is now 12-9 in his young career against the Top 10, giving him a win rate of 57.1 per cent. Alcaraz is 16-9 against the elite group (64%), including 4-0 in 2023.

According to Infosys ATP Stats, only 12 players in the Open Era who have qualified with a minimum 30 matches own a winning percentage of at least 50 per cent against Top 10 opponents, and all of them have reached No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Although Alcaraz and Rune have only played a combined 44 matches against Top 10 opponents, they would be near the top of the list.

Among active players, Alcaraz and Rune own a better winning percentage against the Top 10 than Andy Murray (53%), Daniil Medvedev (49.3%), Alexander Zverev (43.8%) Stefanos Tsitsipas (41.3%), Nick Kyrgios (39.7%) and Dominic Thiem (39%).

That performance has helped them move to the top of the sport. Alcaraz is World No. 2 and Rune on Monday will ascend to a career-high World No. 6. Their rivalry will be one to watch for years to come.

Third seed Daniil Medvedev and seventh seed Holger Rune have taken contrasting paths to Sunday’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia final (4pm CET/10am ET).

A self-proclaimed “hard court specialist”, Medvedev has often spoken tongue-in-cheek about his game on clay. He arrived in Rome without having won a match in three previous appearances in the Italian capital.

Now Medvedev finds himself one victory from his sixth ATP Masters 1000 crown and first on clay. A win on Sunday will lift him past Novak Djokovic to World No. 2 in Monday’s Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Rune, who is competing in the Rome main draw for the first time, has enjoyed a rapid breakthrough into the Top 10. The Dane, a four-time tour-level champion, reached the final on the Monte-Carlo red clay last month before capturing the Munich title.

Can the heavy-hitting Rune go one step further to capture his second ATP Masters 1000 crown? He looks to improve upon his stunning 7-1 record against Top-5 opponents, which includes wins this week over World No. 1 Djokovic in the quarter-finals and World No. 4 Casper Ruud in the semi-finals.

“I play some of my best tennis when I play the top guys of the world. I mean, it’s a good time to play your best tennis because you need it against those players. I’ve managed to do it many times now,” Rune said. “I think it’s obviously some of the toughest challenges to face guys in top five because they’re obviously some of the best guys in the world. But, yeah, I play well when I play them.”

The 19-time tour-level titlist Medvedev stands in his way and has brought his wide variety to the Eternal City. His deep return position, deft drop shorts, and sublime court coverage have all been at the forefront during his clay-court breakthrough. Medvedev, who will try to claim his fifth title of the season, will look to keep Rune guessing in just their second ATP Head2Head encounter.

The seventh seed Rune defeated the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals champion 6-3, 6-4 at the recent Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

“I said after I lost to him in Monte-Carlo, I think he’s one of top players on clay,” Medvedev said. “I think that’s the surface that suits him the most. We know he can play on other surfaces, also. He won Bercy. I think that’s, let’s say, his favourite surface. I’m feeling much better than I felt in Monte-Carlo. I had [many] more matches and much more practice. I’m going to try to play my best.”

Medvedev, 27, boasts a 38-5 record this season and enjoyed a 19-match winning streak spanning from February to March. His biggest title of this year came at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami.

Attempting to win his maiden clay-court crown, Medvedev has dropped just one set en route to his second final on the surface (2019 Barcelona). He has ousted two rivals along the way: Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, whom he beat 7-5, 7-5 in Saturday’s semi-final.

Can Medvedev earn a second consecutive Top-10 victory Sunday against Rune?

“[Holger] showed today that even in the toughest moments he can play amazing, beat anyone,” Medvedev said. “I’m sure it could be a great match and I’m going to try to show my best.”

Rune’s shot-making ability and squeaky clean baseline performances have troubled opponents this tournament. Rune will aim to recreate some of the magic he produced during last year’s title run at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris, where he downed five Top-10 players en route to the trophy, including Djokovic in the final.

Semi-final turnaround 🎾

From 7-6 4-2 down, @holgerrune2003‘s #ShotQuality went ⬆️📈‼️

Some seriously impressive #ShotQuality 🔢’s for the last 12 games👏#TennisInsights | @atptour | @InteBNLdItalia pic.twitter.com/lGrnUSv3CF

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) May 20, 2023

The Dane is No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings and would tie Tsitsipas at No. 5 by winning the title. But because Tsitsipas will win the tie-break, he will remain No. 5 and Rune No. 6.

The 20-year-old Rune will be focused on the task at hand, though. He has quickly gained support from the Italian fans and will rely on the crowd once again in hopes of claiming glory in Rome.

“I enjoy playing in Italy and Rome. It’s a great atmosphere. There’s a great energy on the court, super support. It’s a very passionate crowd. I really like it. It brings some of my best tennis,” Rune said. “I’m having a good time, so I’m super happy, excited for tomorrow.”

Did You Know?
Since the start of the 2022 Rolex Paris Masters, Rune has won 18 of 22 matches during his past ATP Masters 1000 tournaments. He went 3-6 at his first six events at that level.