The question entering the Rome Masters semifinal match between Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev was not what a player had to do to win a Masters 1000 match against Sinner, but what one had to do to even win a set. Since the Paris Masters in 2025, the Italian hadn't lost a match in a Masters event, and he's dropped just two sets. Medvedev didn't seem to have an answer early either.
The Russian had a dismal first set. Sinner won 92 percent of his first serves and had 14 winners and just five unforced errors. He was playing at a level that few players ever could reach, and Medvedev wasn't one of them.
Still, just as tennis fans learned again in the quarterfinals when Medvedev dropped the opening set 1-6 before coming back to beat Martin Landaluce, the Russian is one of the better players of his generation for a reason. He doesn't give up, and he has the kind of defensive game that will keep him in matches he otherwise doesn't seem close to winning.
Jannik Sinner survives Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals of the Rome Masters
At the outset of the second set, Medvedev seemed to find the groundstrokes that he could sneak past the Italian. He was serving with crispness, but he was playing smarter, one of the greatest strengths of Medvedev's skill set. He hadn't panicked, and Sinner had dipped in form.
Shockingly, Medvedev raced out to a 3-0 lead, and even had multiple break points in the fourth game of the set before Sinner was able to hold. The tables appeared to have turned, and the narrative following that of the Russian's previous match when he won in three tense sets.
Even more surprisingly, while Medvedev did win the Rome Masters in 2023, he isn't known for playing his best on clay. He was beating the ATP No. 1 in a set on a surface where Sinner has vastly improved in the past few years.
Sinner was able to get the set back to even, but Medvedev was still playing better overall. He deserved to win the set, and with Sinner serving at 5-6, the Russian got the break and took the set.
Sinner also appeared to be struggling physically, either with cramps or a stomach issue. In the third set, he would call out the medio, but continued to play on, and it's good he did.
He seemed rejuvenated in the final set, getting the early break he needed, and simply needing to keep holding to take the match. The Russian kept making many of the points physical tolls with his excellent defense and ability to hit side to side. Just when Sinner would be on the cusp of breaking the set open, as he did at 4-2 on Medvedev's serve, the Russian fought back.
The rain came with Medvedev serving, and a point away from getting to 3-4, and the chair umpire didn't want to stop initially. Sinner kept complaining, though, and eventually a pause was taken. Medvedev didn't outwardly appear to have an issue, but he could have, since he was serving.
Sinner seemingly was just delaying from a standpoint of gamesmanship, but the rain continued to be so hard that the match had to be pushed back to restart on Saturday. Maybe Sinner is an elite weatherperson as well.
After the match restarted on Saturday, Medvedev got the point he needed to hold serve, but then Sinner held at love. He came out faster than the Russian did, and Medvedev could not afford a slow start. Sinner then got two break points (and two match points) in the next game, but Medvedev managed to hold.
The top-seed then got the hold he needed to take the final set 6-4 and reach the final. He was pushed more by Daniil Medvedev than anyone in recent memory, but his victory was earned and worthy.
Sinner will be trying to get his first title at the Italian Open, the only Masters he has yet to win. Should he take the trophy, he will be the youngest player ever to win all nine Masters. He is only 24 years old.
Jannik Sinner will next play Casper Ruud in the final on Sunday. Ruud is a clay-court specialist who will be a tough out. He would not be a shocking winner in the final.
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