Medvedev rolls past Hanfmann to book Italian Open semis berth
Medvedev, who has described himself as a ‘hard court specialist’, had never won a match in Rome before this year’s tournament but has produced some of his best tennis to reach the last four on clay for the first time since Monte Carlo in 2019
Daniil Medvedev continued his Italian Open clay breakthrough on Thursday as the third seed reached the semi-finals with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Yannick Hanfmann.
The 2021 US Open champion freely admits he’s never been comfortable on the dirt but has shatered that stereotype with his steady progress at the Foro Italico, reaching his seventh semi-final of the season.
He dominated number 101 German qualifier Hanfmann ater setling in following breaks of serve in the opening three games in their quarter-final.
Ater going down a break in the second set, the 31-year-old Hanfmann complained to his coaching box that he had no legs let as he played on prior to losing serve for the fith time in the match.
But he struck back briefly with a break of the seed to hold on for 2-4 before dropping serve again as Medvedev moved into winning position, closing it out on a second match point.
“I’ve been having good feelings in practice and I’m proving it here,” Medvedev said.
“I’m happy with the win and happy to be in the semi-finals. Prior to this edition, Medvedev had never won a match in Rome and had litle confidence in his game on the clay.
He is now into the final four ater four victories and the loss of just one set.
“Against Hanfmann I wanted to put as many balls into the court as possible. He plays very aggressive.
“I played deep to try and make him miss -and maybe he was not playing his best match. He was struggling more than me. I’m glad I was able to neutralise his game.”
Medvedev also increased his lead in Tour match wins as he claimed his 37th of the season.
Meanwhile, Nick Kyrgios’s withdrawal from the French Open was because of a cut foot sustained when a man allegedly stole his car at gunpoint, his agent says, rather than knee surgery.
The French tennis Federation said this week the Australian would miss Roland Garros
due to surgery in January to repair a torn let meniscus.
But his agent told The Canberra Times the knee was “fine” and a nasty cut to the foot was why he would not be in Paris next week.
“The knee surgery went as well as it possibly could and his rehabilitation was fantastic and we were at the point where we were doing on-court loading and management,” Daniel Horsfall told the newspaper.
“We needed to be at a point that he could comfortably play five sets. Right when we were geting stuck into the loading period, the (alleged) armed robbery happened at his house.
“During the ordeal he cut his foot quite badly. It’s not healing correctly and he can’t put in the work on court, so he’s been off court for almost two weeks now.”
Court documents cited by national broadcaster ABC earlier this month alleged that a man pointed a gun at Kyrgios’s mother before stealing his lime-green Tesla near his home in Canberra.
The 28-year-old Kyrgios, who was nearby, called police and using an app on his phone helped them track his car’s location. It is not clear how he cut his foot.
The 2022 Wimbledon finalist, ranked 26 in the world, has not played the French Open since a second-round exit in 2017.
He has never flourished on the Rolandgarros clay, reaching the third round on just two of the five times he has played there.
Kyrgios has had a troubled year, pleading guilty in February to assaulting a former girlfriend. He avoided a conviction for what the magistrate called a “single act of stupidity”.
His grandmother died this week. “Seems like I can’t catch a break right now,” Kyrgios said on social media, accompanied by photos of his late “Yiayia” -- the Greek word for grandmother.
“RIP Yiayia, the best we could ask for. Go enjoy your time with Papou now.”