Italian Open 2024 Day 6 Recap – Perfect Tennis

Day six at the 2024 Internazionali BNL d’Italia saw Daniil Medvedev keep alive his hopes of defending an ATP title for the first time with a hard-fought 7-6(5), 2-6, 7-5 over 2023 Next Gen FInals winner Hamad Medjedovic.

While winning Rome is still on the Russian’s agenda, the final definitely won’t be a rematch from last year, as 10th seed Holger Rune lost to Sebastian Baez in three sets. 

French qualifier Alexandre Muller also dumped out 4th seed Andrey Rublev, but all the other matches went the way of seeding, with Tsitsipas, Hurkacz, de Minaur, and Jarry all booking their spots in tomorrow’s last sixteen matches.

You can see the full results from day six below, along with highlights.

Day Six Italian Open 2024 Round of 32 Results

Tsitsipas Tops Norrie

Stefanos Tsitsipas is back to being a contender for every tournament he plays (on clay, at least), and he continued his Rome campaign with a 6-2, 7-6(1) win over Cameron Norrie.

Tsitsipas’s forehand is a highly effective shot, and he used it masterfully to dominate Norrie in the first set.

However, the Brit is one of the toughest competitors on tour. While he doesn’t have massive weapons like some of the top guys, he can run all day and will keep up the intensity indefinitely.

That showed in the second set, where Norrie got himself up an early break, but Tsitsipas’s ability to do that bit extra from the baseline got him back in the set and through a one-sided tiebreak. 

The Greek progressed in 1 hour and 33 minutes, hitting 27 winners against nine unforced errors. He will face Alex de Minaur in the next round.

My shots landed deep in the court and created many angles. It is difficult for my opponent to control those shots and I think I did that in the first set. Precise, one might call it. The first set I did a great job in making him feel uncomfortable, at least that is what I felt from the other side of the court. The second set was not going to be easy. He is a top player who knows how to adapt to situations and fix things, so I knew that the second set might present a different type of challenge. It did, and I had to find solutions. He was holding serve a little more comfortably, and my shots were perhaps not doing as much damage. My patience and determination in the tie-break, trying to hang in there and make as many balls as I could and make as many balls as deep as possible so I didn’t have to defend much, gave me the 7/1 in the tie-break. That was a relief. It was getting really close, and the match was played in a few small details. Tsitsipas on his win over Norrie.

Baez Boxes Off Rune

Holger Rune suffered a mid-match collapse as he fell to Sebastian Baez 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 to crash out in the third round.

2024 has been a challenging year for Rune, who was defending final points in Rome after his runner-up position twelve months ago.

However, he dominated early against Baez, taking a 4-0 lead and securing the first set 6-2 in just thirty minutes. He showcased some hard-hitting, top-notch tennis despite Baez making only four unforced errors.

However, the dynamic shifted dramatically in the second set. Rune had a chance to break for a 2-0 lead, but Baez kept the rallies long and tiring, a strategy that played to his strengths.

From 2-1 up, Rune lost twelve consecutive points, allowing Baez to sweep the next three games. Rune’s form faltered, and Baez took the set 6-2 after winning five straight games.

In the decisive third set, Rune’s focus dissipated. At 1-1, Baez offered up an easy smash, but Rune misfired it miles out of bounds, and although he managed to hold, that type of play set the tone for the remainder, and the Dane couldn’t maintain his level. Baez needed only to keep the ball in play, and errors from Rune did the rest.

Unfortunately, Rune’s game has been a bit all over the shop this season, blowing far too hot and cold. He needs to embrace his natural strengths and choose the right moments to be aggressive.

His power and counterpunching abilities can work brilliantly if he can find the right balance. Some of the shot decisions today were just daft. I noticed last season when he played Wawrinka in Indian Wells and lost, that it was purely down to poor shot selection, and he only seems to have gotten worse in that regard.

Baez, on the other hand, put in a solid performance. His ability to stay focused and maintain a consistent level of play is what Rune needs but can’t seem to do.

Medvedev Grinds Out Victory Over Medjedovic

Defending champion Daniil Medvedev staved off a spirited challenge from Hamad Medjedovic in the last match of the day at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Monday.

Medvedev had to dig deep and put in a decisive third-set performance to secure a hard-fought 7-6(5), 2-6, 7-5 in a match as he attempts to defend a tour-level title for the first time.

The match had its ups and downs, and Medvedev’s serving is still a significant weakness due to what we believe is a shoulder problem or “external factors”, as he calls it. 

He committed ten double faults, but in the deciding set, he somehow turned it up a notch, taking a 4-1 lead without making any unforced errors.

Medjedovic rallied back to even the score at 4-4 and pressured Medvedev at 0/30 in the ninth game, but the Russian’s response was clinical, using his reliable baseline play and court coverage to shift the momentum.

Remaining calm under pressure, Meddy broke Medjedovic in the final game to seal the match after two hours and 50 minutes.

It’s impressive that he secured the win with 109 points, while Medjedovic finished with 116 points. He is one of the best at figuring out how to win matches and showing his mettle in tight moments. 

I felt like I started the match well, but then, in a way, it was only going downhill. My serve was not there, and my shots were not aggressive enough when I needed to. Many times, I would like to play the rhythm I played, but I would also like to surprise my opponent with some good shots from time to time. Today, I was not able to do it. At one moment in the match, I thought what I was doing would not be enough to win. So I’m happy I could win even though I didn’t my best. Tomorrow, I’m going to try to find my best tennis. Medvedev on winning ugly.

Other Matches of Note

Muller upsets Rublev: Alexandre Muller caused a big upset on Monday, taking out Andrey Rublev 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. The 27-year-old French qualifier overturned Rublev’s seven-match winning streak with a remarkable one-hour, 49-minute comeback victory, marking his first win over a Top 10 player.

De Minaur downs Auger-Aliassime: Alex de Minaur advanced to the last 16, overcoming Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4. After a tough three-hour match, the Australian clinched his first win against Auger-Aliassime and is set to face sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas next. Another costly double fault cost Felix in the third set after he’d recovered from 1-3 down.

Hurkacz Stops Etcheverry: A solid win for Hurkacz, who came through some tricky moments, saving several breakpoints and a set point in the first set tiebreak to move into the last sixteen.

Day 6 Highlights

Italian Open 2024 Day 7 Round of 16 Matches