Rain halts Rome semi-final summit, Sinner’s hardest match since February
Jannik Sinner (No 1) leads Daniil Medvedev (No 7) 6-2, 5-7, 4-2 in a suspended Rome semi-final, the Italian two games from the final but visibly tired after a medical timeout at 3-2 in the third. The Russian had made it 5-7, taking the first set off Sinner this tournament. Play resumes Saturday from 3 p.m. local time.
Sinner – Medvedev, Rome 2026 | © AP Photo/Andrew Medichini/SIPA
Top seed Jannik Sinner and Russian No. 7 seed Daniil Medvedev will return to Campo Centrale on Saturday to finish their suspended Rome ATP Masters 1000 semi-final, the Italian leading 6-2, 5-7, 4-2 when rain ended play for the night.
Tournament organisers confirmed the match will resume on Saturday as the second match on Campo Centrale, with play scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. local time — first the men’s doubles semi-final between Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori, then Sinner and Medvedev, not before 3:00 p.m. The other men’s doubles semi-final has been moved to the Supertennis Arena to clear the order of play.
The pair will resume from where they stopped, with Sinner two games from the final but Medvedev — already the first player to take a set off Sinner at this tournament – refusing to let the match become routine. Advantage Medvedev on the Russian’s serve.
Sinner had begun the way he has begun most matches in Rome, breaking twice in the opening three games to lead 3-0 and serving out the set 6-2 with little resistance. Medvedev pushed two of the later service games to deuce but could not turn the pressure into anything.
Sinner’s signs of strain
The Russian then broke at the start of the second, built his own 3-0 lead, watched Sinner save multiple break points in a marathon fourth game and break back to 3-3, and held his own serve through to 5-5. Sinner held under pressure at 5-5, but at 5-6 his serve gave out: Medvedev created three set points and converted the third to level the match 7-5.
The third set followed the pattern of the first rather than the second. Sinner broke for 2-1, held to 3-1, watched Medvedev work his way through a deuce game to 3-2, then held again for 4-2. Rain arrived shortly afterwards.
The Italian had shown signs of strain through the battle. At 3-0 in the second he had been on his knees between points, breathing heavily and walking back to his chair slowly. He took a medical timeout at 3-2 in the third, a stoppage Medvedev visibly disagreed with, the Russian making his displeasure clear to chair umpire Aurélie Tourte during the break.
Medvedev becomes the first player to take a set off Sinner at this tournament, and the eighth set Sinner has dropped from his last 64 played at Masters 1000 level. The Italian’s overall ATP Masters 1000 winning streak now stretches to 32 matches but is, for the first time in months, under genuine pressure.
The winner faces Casper Ruud in Sunday’s final, the Norwegian a 6-1, 6-1 winner over Luciano Darderi in Friday’s earlier semi-final.
