Daniil Medvedev warmly accepted Martin Landaluce’s apology at the net for accidentally hitting him in an earlier point. The world No.9 is through to the Italian Open semi-finals after a tight 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over his Spanish opponent.
Medvedev recovered from a break down in the third set – in a battle that last two hours and 24 minutes – to reach the semi-finals of a Masters 1000 for the 18th time in his career. The Russian now faces the uneviable task of trying to stop Jannik Sinner‘s record 32 match winning streak at Masters 1000 level after the world No.1 player beat Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4.
And an exchange between Medvedev and Landaluce caught attention after the conclusion of their late-night battle on Thursday. After the handshake, television cameras captured the comments they shared.
“Great battle,” Medvedev told his opponent while greeting him after the match.
“Sorry for the ball (smash),” said Landaluce, apologising for a recent shot that unintentionally hit Medvedev a few points earlier.
“Oh yes! There’s no problem. I was annoyed at the time, but it was to win the point,” Medvedev replied with a smile. “Good fight, good fight.”
Medvedev was full of praise in his post-match press conference for the current world No.94 who will rise almost 30 positions in the ATP Rankings.
He said: “He played unreal at the beginning. If he plays like he did in the first set of every match, he will be Top 5 by the end of the year, in Turin. When you’re young, it’s tough to play a full match like this, so I just fought. I’m happy that I managed to seal the victory.”
Medvedev also highlighted the tough nature of playing on clay as he looks to reach the final in Rome for the first time since he won it in 2023.
He added: “I am happy to have won such a tough match. On clay, I feel there are more swings, more momentum shifts, so I’m pleased to have fully returned to the match after the first set, and also to have come back after a slow start in the third.
“In the end, I felt I was playing better than him, whether due to physical or perhaps tennis-related reasons. I was not able to capitalize on all the opportunities I had before, but I’m content to have given my all and ultimately clinched the victory.”