Daniil Medvedev Battles Through Challenge from Hamad Medjedovic in Rome 2024 Triumph

The 20-year-old rising talent Hamad Medjedovic put up quite a fight, but Daniil Medvedev held strong and defeated him 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-5 to advance to the Internazionali BNL d’Italia’s fourth round.

“I was not playing the way I wanted to,” Medvedev declared as soon as the game ended, off the court. To be honest, I never managed to get the rhythm I was going for in any shot. The most crucial thing is to win, though; a 6-0, 6-0 victory is always preferable, even though the ATP Tour doesn’t see it very frequently. I’m happy with the victory and will endeavor to do better tomorrow than I did today.
It was further exacerbated by the fact that he was performing well. However, I’m glad I won!”

In two hours and fifty minutes on Campo Centrale, Medvedev prevailed despite multiple changes of momentum and some incredible hitting from the young Serb, who took home the Next Generation ATP Finals title in December.

The top-seeded player remaining in the men’s bracket since Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal on Sunday is the No. 2 seed. However, following his straight-set victory against Jack Draper, the reigning champion commented that the Foro Italico was not as windy as it was when he won the trophy a year ago.

Contrarily, Medjedovic plays a style of tennis that is ideal for clay courts, combining a potent topspin game with a light touch. He breezed through qualification and advanced to the third round without dropping a set, surprising No. 30 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to set up a match against Medvedev.

Medvedev used his greater range of expertise from the beginning to break early and take a 4-2 lead. However, Medjedovic never trailed, breaking Medvedev twice to force a first set tiebreaker—a situation that would persist for the majority of the match.

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Despite some difficulties during the serve, Medvedev won the Sudden Death but lost the second game and was broken twice more as Medjedovic pushed for a decisive set.

“He strikes hard. He strikes hard. This court has a lot of clay, so the bounce can be erratic, especially when you hit hard. I discovered that I was missing a lot of shots, and once you’re back, the power is gone. There were several situations in which I was unable to exert the control I desired. Perhaps it was just him, but today I felt like I had lost my energy.”

In the midst of a boisterous atmosphere, Medjedovic stormed back to square the set at four games apiece, just as Medvedev seemed to have the match under control after playing flawless tennis to grab a 4-1 lead in the third.

“I thought everything was good in between the points, but there was a brief time when some guys started yelling at his serve. It was right before his homecoming, so I was having trouble too. There might have been a shift in intensity where you spoke less in between points.

“I recall a conversation that Frances [Tiafoe] and Nick [Kyrgios] had about how they felt there needs to be greater noise at matches. No, in my opinion, but nobody would notice if there was constant noise. One person shouting anything might really throw you off because there is no sound.”

In the end, experience prevailed as Medvedev defeated a worn-out Medjedovic one final time to win in less than three hours.