On Monday, May 11, the final third-round singles matches took place at the Rome Masters. Among those vying for a spot in the fourth round were 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev and four-time Grand Slam winner Jannik Sinner. Medvedev was defending points from his round of 16 finish a year ago, while Sinner aimed to extend his winning streak at Masters events that began in Paris last year.
Medvedev started his Rome campaign directly in the third round. The seventh seed had a first-round bye and avoided playing his second-round match when his opponent, Tomas Machac, withdrew before the start. For a place in the fourth round, Medvedev faced little-known Spaniard Pablo Llamas Ruiz, ranked No. 139 in the world. Llamas Ruiz rarely competes at ATP level, but in Rome he entered the match on a four-match winning streak. He won two in qualifying and two in the main draw, all going the distance in three sets and totaling 9 hours and 26 minutes of court time.
Llamas Ruiz was unfazed by his opponent’s status and played confidently on return in the first game. Medvedev made errors and gifted the Spaniard an early break. On break point, the Russian misfired in a lengthy rally. Llamas Ruiz consolidated the break, and it was interesting to see how Medvedev would respond. He struggled, holding his own serve with difficulty and creating no break opportunities. In the fifth game, the 2023 Rome champion saved double break point to prevent the Spaniard from extending his lead further.
The remainder of the first set followed a similar pattern. Llamas Ruiz outplayed Medvedev from the baseline and deservedly took the set. He converted his second set point on return in the ninth game, winning 6-3 in 41 minutes. The Spaniard had a positive winners-unforced errors balance (11-7), while Medvedev was negative (5-12). After losing the set, the Russian started complaining.
In the first game of the second set, Medvedev finally earned a break point but failed to convert. It was not until the fifth game that the Russian, playing more aggressively in the set, made the breakthrough. He worked hard on return and took a 3-2 lead with a break. Medvedev consolidated and then held serve comfortably, serving out the set at 6-4 in 45 minutes. In this set, he recorded 11 winners and 14 unforced errors, while Llamas Ruiz had eight and 10 respectively.
The decisive set was a display of class from Medvedev. Llamas Ruiz noticeably faded, which was unsurprising given the amount of tennis he had played earlier in the tournament. The Russian broke early, served solidly, and broke again in the fifth game on his third break point, as the Spaniard fought hard. The score reached 4-1, but Llamas Ruiz broke back in the sixth game, then had game points but failed to hold serve. Medvedev broke again and served out the match: 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in 2 hours and 9 minutes.
With this win, Medvedev reached the fourth round in Rome for the fourth consecutive time. He won the title in 2023 but lost in the round of 16 in the two following years. He also became the third player in the current decade (since 2020) to achieve at least 100 Masters 1000 match wins (now 101 against 41 losses).
Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner made quick work of Australian Alexei Popyrin, crushing him in straight sets to advance. The Italian dominated from start to finish, breaking Popyrin multiple times and not facing a single break point. Sinner’s 118th Masters win (including this one) keeps him on pace for a deep run in Rome.
