As the tennis world gets excited about the French Open which starts six days from now, the 2023 Italian Open was completed on Sunday. In the women’s final late Saturday night (and early Sunday morning in Rome), 2022 Wimbledon champion and Italian Open seventh seed Elena Rybakina defeated the 30th seed Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine, 6-4, 1-o. Then in the men’s final on Sunday, 2021 United States Open champion Daniil Medvedev of Moscow, Russia, who was the third seed in Rome, defeated the seventh seed, Holger Rune of Denmark, 7-5, 7-5.
In the women’s final, Kalinina injured her leg and was unable to continue in the early stages of the second set. For Rybakina it was her fifth career title, and second of 2023. Her other title this year came at Indian Wells, where she beat Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the final, 7-6, 6-4.
Kolinina was one of two seeded players who withdrew from Rome while playing Rybakina. The other was number one seed Iga Swiatek of Poland, who withdrew in the third set in the quarterfinals with a thigh injury.
Meanwhile, the women’s trophy presentation was filled with errors. Rybakina actually spoke first, and was not formally presented the trophy by anyone as she walked over and picked up the trophy herself according to Wendi Oliveros of The Sports Daily.
In the men’s final, Medvedev played exceptional tennis in the latter stages of each set. He actually broke Rune twice in two of the last three games of the match. Medvedev has won 20 ATP finals, but this is his very first win on clay. This was Medvedev’s fifth win in 2023. He previously won the Rotterdam Open, the Qatar Open, the Dubai Open, and the Miami Masters.
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At the Italian Open, Medvedev beat four seeded players. In addition to Rune, he beat the 31st seed Bernabe Zapata Miralles of Spain, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the third round, 19th seed Alexander Zverev of Germany, 6-2, 7-6 in the fourth round, and fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, 7-5, 7-5 in the semifinals.
In other tennis news, Andy Murray of Great Britain, the 2016 French Open finalist, will miss the French Open according to ESPN. The reason for his withdrawal is because he can focus on Wimbledon.
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