"Being in the club completely drunk" - Daniil Medvedev on his victory dance against Stefanos Tsitsipas
Daniil Medvedev defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinal of the Italian Open on Saturday, May 20, and celebrated his win with a little dance.
Medvedev gave Tsitsipas a taste of his own medicine after the latter started the dance-off at the Cincinnati Masters last year. Tsitsipas had marked his final four victory at the tournament by dancing on the court.
After the match in Rome, Medvedev talked about his dance moves and stated that he once did that at Flushing Meadows previously and explained what the dance was.
"I did once in the U.S. Open that was famous. I like the GIF. I don't know how you call it GIF or JIF? So let's see what comes out with this one." he said.
Medvedev, who'll be facing Holger Rune in the final on Sunday, revealed that he the dance made him feel like "the god of the dance pole". He concluded the on-court interview by saying that he's looking forward to his first claycourt Masters 1000 final.
"Because when you do it, it's like being in the club completely drunk when you're dancing, and then I have a lot of friends like this, you feel like you are the god of the dance pole," he explained.
"But then when they show you the video, you know, it was not the thing," he added. "So I don't know how did it go, but I was just happy for you to be in my first clay masters final and looking forward for tomorrow."
Daniil Medvedev will face Holger Rune in 2023 Italian Open final
Daniil Medvedev defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 7-5 in the semifinal of the Rome Masters to secure a spot in the final, where he will face Holger Rune. Dropping only one set in the campaign, against Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the Round of 32, the Russian has won most of his matches comfortably.
On the other hand, Rune took down Casper Ruud 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 6-2 in his last four fixture. It was the 20-year-old's first win over the Norwegian in their five meetings since 2021.
Medvedev and Rune have faced each other only once before, at the Monte-Carlo Masters last month, where the Dane stunned the former World No. 1 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals before losing to Andrey Rublev in the final.