Even given his solid form on European clay courts prior to Rome, the World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev expressed surprise at his title run in Italy, admitting that the unexpected nature of his victory made it one of his greatest to date.
It was Medvedev’s maiden ATP Tour title on clay at any level, let alone at a Masters 1000. The 27-year-old had not won a match in his previous three visits to the Italian Open, but he concluded a dream run by overcoming Holger Rune to win in Rome on Sunday.
“In a way this is my number one success, just because it’s the first one on clay and it’s unbelievable. I would never have thought I would be able to make this. Then I have to be honest, a Grand Slam is always bigger. The 2021 US Open is always number one there,” said Medvedev in his post-match press conference.
“This one is special because I didn’t think it was going to be able to happen, [that I was] going to be able to make it. I still kind of don’t believe… Not that I won it, but I played so well this week. I don’t believe it. The way I played, I’m really happy. Happy to have this trophy back home in some time,” he added.
Medvedev’s deep groundstrokes have been a major component of his clay-court progression. His baseline retrieving has been the foundation of his hard-court success, and he attributed his success on the clay this year to a string change at the start of the 2023
season.