Holger Rune vs Daniil Medvedev Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Italian Open

Prediction published on 20/05/2023, 16:08  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 20/05/2023 at 17:43 in Tennis Predictions

World number seven Holger Rune takes on the third seed Daniil Medvedev in the Rome Masters final. Both have had successful seasons but it's Rune who has had better results on clay. The Dane has already won the Munich title (for the second successive year) and made it to the final in Monte Carlo. Now he's in another Masters final and looking for a big boost just before Roland Garros. This time last year, Rune was ranked 42nd but had started 2022 outside of the top 100. He's been climbing the rankings in the past year and is now established in the top ten. It's been a tough route to this final with his last three matches all going to a final set. One of those was in the last eight when he knocked out defending champion Novak Djokovic. He followed that up with a win in the last four over the fourth seed Casper Ruud. Rune lost the first set on a tie-break but then won the next two for the loss of only six games. This is the second match between these two players. The first was on clay in Monte Carlo this year with Rune winning in straight sets.

Daniil Medvedev has won four titles already this year but all on hard courts. His record in clay isn't that great and he famously lost four first round matches at Roland Garros before getting off the mark. He did get to the last eight there in 2021 and the fourth round last year. However, Medvedev had never made it past the second round of this tournament before this run to the final. This is only his second ATP Tour clay court final. The other was four years ago when losing to Dominic Thiem in Barcelona. A win will take him above Novak Djokovic into second place in the rankings. This year has seen him reach that quarter final in Monte Carlo but then lose in the last 16 in Madrid to a player outside the top 120. This tournament has gone better for him with three top 16 players beaten (Zverev, Coric and Tsitsipas) and just one set lost. Can he win his first clay court title? We think he'll have to wait a bit longer and go for Rune to win.