Daniil Medvedev gestures for booing crowd to shut up during clash with Alexander Zverev at Italian Open
Daniil Medvedev, who is no stranger to hostile crowds, delivered a fitting reply to the booing spectators at the Italian Open on Tuesday, May 16.
Despite failing to secure a single victory in his three previous appearances at the Italian Open, Medvedev is now through to the quarterfinals of the Masters event. After beating Emil Ruusuvuori and Bernabe Zapata Miralles, the World No. 3 locked horns with Alexander Zverev in the fourth round for their third clash of the season.
Medvedev dominated proceedings in the first set, breaking Zverev's serve twice to win 6-2. The German fought back hard in the second, forcing a tiebreak despite trailing by a break early on in the set. However, Medvedev's clinical performance in the tiebreak saw him prevail 6-2, 7-6(3), as he ousted Zverev from a Masters event for the third time this year.
The tense second set saw loud boos from the spectators being directed at Daniil Medvedev, who in turn animatedly gestured for the hostile crowd to shut up after Alexander Zverev reclaimed a break to level the set at 4-4.
Tense scenes on Grandstand 🤫
#IBI23 https://t.co/oL2ox5SYjH
With the victory, Medvedev extended his winning record against Zverev to 9-6. The Russian also overtook Carlos Alcaraz to claim the top spot in the live rankings for the Race to the ATP Finals. He currently holds 3,480 points to the Spaniard's 3,455.
"I have to be at my best to try to beat him" - Daniil Medvedev on Italian Open QF opponent Yannick Hanfmann
Daniil Medvedev will take on qualifier Yannick Hanfmann in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open. Hanfmann upset sixth seed Andrey Rublev to book a spot against Medvedev.
Following his win, Medvedev acknowledged the German's recent strong performances and highlighted his impressive display at the Rome Masters.
“I saw a little bit of [Hanfmann’s] match today and I saw his third set against [Marco] Cecchinato. He’s playing well right now, I feel like he was already playing well, in Houston and Madrid [for example], just not going into the final or something like this," Medvedev said in his post-match interview.
Medvedev stated that he would have to be at his best to counter Yanfmann who is on an exceptional run at the moment.
“[Here is his] breakthrough, let’s say, already in the quarter-finals from qualies, playing a great level. So I have to be at my best to try to beat him," he added.
Daniil Medvedev currently holds a 33-5 win-loss record for the season. He shares the top spot for most titles of the season with Carlos Alcaraz, with both having won four titles so far.