Daniil Medvedev will meet Emil Ruusuvuori in the Second Round of the 2023 Italian Open. The match will be played on Saturday May 13th, 2023.
Daniil Medvedev is the third seed here at the 2023 Italian Open and the former world number one is now ranked third. The Russian has long made his disdain for this surface very clear, but in fairness to him he has improved his play on it, with some decent results. He has had some solid results this season, reaching the Quarters in Monte-Carlo and the Round of 16 in Madrid. Even though this isn’t his surface and he is up against a tough opponent in Emil Ruusuvuori, he should still be favored to make it through here.
Emil Ruusuvuori is unseeded here at the Italian Open and is ranked 43rd in the world. He has been solid but unspectacular over the past few seasons, punctuated with a few impressive results here and there. He had a difficult First Round win here against Ugo Humbert in a match which he trailed for quite some time, before stepping up to win 6-4, 3-6, 7-6. His next opponent is on a different level to Humbert, so the Finnish player will have to be even better if he is to avoid being sent home. If this was another surface we wouldn’t be giving him much of a chance, but clay levels the playing field a little bit.
Daniil Medvedev is not someone that I fully trust on clay courts, but I generally trust him in the early rounds, especially in big tournaments. I expect Ruusuvuori to give him some anxious moments, but Medvedev will be seeking ranking points here, and I think he will be up for the challenge early on. It won’t be straightforward, but back the big Russian to come away with the victory and to move on here at the Italian Open.