Rublev Battles Through Windy Conditions Into Rome Fourth Round

Andrey Rublev
Andrey Rublev (photo: Giampiero Spoito/FITP)

ROME/WASHINGTON, May 11, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

World No. 14 Andrey Rublev has quietly but effectively gone about his business – the business of winning tennis matches – at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia during the Roman fortnight.

On Monday afternoon, the Russian No. 2 continued his journey to complete the set of semifinals at all nine ATP Masters 1000 events by defeating World No. 23 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 6-4, 6-4, in 74 minutes on Supertennis Arena for his seventh triumph in eight career head-to-head meetings.

The 12th-seeded Rublev, who won 85 percent (33 of 39) of his first-serve points, hit 22 winners, made only 16 unforced errors and converted three of four break points. He outpointed Davidovich Fokina 64-44 to collect his first Top 30 win since Cincinnati last year and broke an 0-9 string against Top-30 competition.

The victory marked the first time this season that Rublev has earned consecutive ATP Masters 100 wins. He’s through to his first round of 16 at this level since Paris last year – and third time overall in Rome.

During his on-court interview with ATP Media, the 28-year-old Rublev said the conditions at times were windy and tricky but he managed to maintain his focus.

“The conditions were super tough. It was impossible to play tennis. It was really windy – the ball was just moving every time – but I’m happy I was able to stay focused,” said Rublev, who improved to 17-9 this season (8-6 lifetime in Rome).

“Somehow, I found winners from unexpected moments. I was able to make them in important moments. That was the key. In important moments, I played well. I was able to break him early in the second set and to hold my serve.”

Next, Rublev will play 117th-ranked qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia, who upset No. 30 seed Brandon Nakashima of the United States, 7-6 (5), 6-4, in one hour and 40 minutes on Supertennis Arena, in the fourth round.

Basilashvili struck 34 winners – including nine aces – and won 84 percent (34 of 38) first-serve points. He outpointed the 32nd-ranked Nakashima 72-67. It marks the first time since Basilashvili won the 2021 Munich title that he’s won three-consecutive matches on clay.

Sinner wins 30th-straight ATP Masters 1000 match

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy won his 25th-consecutive match of the season with his 65-minute 6-2, 6-0 victory over 60th-ranked Alexei Popyrin of Australia on Campo Centrale Monday afternoon.

Sinner’s latest triumph, which improved his 2026 win-loss record to 32-2, tied him with Novak Djokovic as the only players to win their first 25 ATP Masters 1000 matches of the season after the Serbian great achieved the feat in 2011 by winning 31 straight and in 2015 by winning 25 straight.

It was also Sinner’s 30th consecutive win at the ATP Masters 1000 level, which tied him with Djokovic for the second-longest winning streak in series history. Sinner, who has won the first four ATP Masters 1000 tournaments of the season, has garnered five-straight at series level going back to the Rolex Paris Masters last October.

Against Popyrin, who has never beaten a World No. 1 player, Sinner won 78 percent (18 of 23) of his first-serve points, accumulated 28 winners while making just 12 unforced errors and saved the only break point he faced, which occurred during Sinner’s second service game of the opening set. He converted five of eight break points against Popyrin and outpointed him 54-26.

“On the conditions, I feel like the wind was one way,” Sinner said during his on-court interview with ATP Media. “I didn’t have to change a lot, but in the same time, when you play with wind, you try to move the ball a bit more around. When you are against the wind, I try to go quite flat.

“It was a very good performance. He is a big server and his percentage was not very high, which helped me a little bit. But I have been returning the second serves very well and I am happy to be in the next round.”

Next, Sinner will face 155th-ranked Italian qualifier Andrea Pellegrino, who won his third straight Rome main-draw match with his 7-6 (8), 6-1 victory over No. 20 seed Frances Tiafoe of the United States in an hour and 56 minutes on BNP Paribas Arena.

Pellegrino recorded his third Top-30 win by striking 24 winners and converting four of eight break points. He outpointed Tiafoe 76-60. Pellegrino jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening set before winning it on his sixth set-point opportunity. Then, he put away the victory on his second match-point try.

The Bisceglie native improved to 5-2 in tour-level play this season (7-5 career).

“It’s amazing. I didn’t expect when I came here at the beginning of the tournament to reach this kind of record,” Pellegrino said during his on-court interview with ATP Media. “I’m very happy about my game. I’ve played five matches at a really good level. I’m happy.”

Pellegrino is the third lowest-ranked man to reach the fourth round at Rome in this century after No. 361 Stan Wawrinka in 2022 and No. 249 Lorenzo Musetti in 2020. It’s also the first time in his career he’s won three-straight ATP Tour matches.

Around the Foro Italico

• Lucky loser Martin Landaluce of Spain, who was inserted into the main draw as a replacement for injured No. 14 seed Valentin Vacherot last Saturday, has won his second-straight match to advance to the fourth round.

The 94th-ranked Spaniard, who was a part of the Next Gen ATP Finals field last year along with fellow Spanish #NextGenATP star Rafael Jodar, defeated No. 80 Mattia Bellucci of Italy, 6-4, 6-3, in one hour and 47 minutes on BNP Paribas Arena. Landaluce won 86 percent (24 of 28) of his first-serve points, saved both break points he faced and outpointed Bellucci 72-52.

With Monday’s victory, Landaluce has moved up to No. 80 on the PIF ATP Live Rankings. He’s the sixth lucky loser to reach the round of 16 in Rome – and it’s his second ATP Masters 1000 fourth round following Miami earlier this season.

• Next, Landaluce will face No. 67 Hamad Medjedovic of Serbia, the 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals champion, who pulled through a three-hour, two-minute marathon against No. 44 Mariano Navone of Argentina. Medjedovic won 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Pietrangeli to reach the fourth round at an ATP Masters 1000 for the first time in his career. 

Medjedovic overcame 70 unforced errors to hit 31 winners and saved 12 of 14 break points. He converted three of 10 break-point chances and outpointed Navone 111-109. 

• No, 7 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia needed a set to get on track against 139th-ranked Spanish qualifier Pablo Llamas Ruiz. However, once the 2023 Rome champion did, he pulled out a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory in two hours and eight minutes on BNP Paribas Arena to advance to the fourth round. He’s the third man to earn 100 ATP Masters 1000 wins this decade and his 22nd win of the season ties him with Carlos Alcaraz and Arthur Fils for third-most victory on the ATP Tour.

Medvedev denied Llamas Ruiz his first Top-10 triumph as he struck 36 winners to offset 40 unforced errors, converted four of eight break points and outpointed the 23-year-old Spaniard 91-82.

Next, Medvedev will face No. 69 Thiago Agustin Tirante of Argentina, who beat No. 10 seed Flavio Cobolli of Italy, 6-3, 6-4, in one hour and 18 minutes on Campo Centrale Monday evening. It was Tirante’s second-straight win over Cobolli after defeating him at the Miami Open last year. The 25-year-old Argentine hit 18 winners and took advantage of 26 unforced errors by Cobolli. He converted three of six break-point opportunities and outpointed the 24-year-old Italian 62-42.

 

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• In doubles, No. 1 seeds Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Henry Patten of Great Britain, who recently won the Madrid title, advanced to the second round with a 7-6 (7), 6-3 win over Americans Tommy Paul and Ethan Quinn. Also, No. 4 seeds Christian Harrison of the United States and Neal Skupski of Great Britain advanced with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Brazil’s Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos.

Meanwhile, defending champions and this year’s No. 5 seeds Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia defeated Marcelo Melo of Brazil and Alexander Zverev of Germany, 6-4, 6-3, to move into the second round, and Italian favorites Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori, seeded seventh, defeated Yuki Bhambri of India and Michael Venus of New Zealand, 2-6, 6-3, 10-8. No. 3 seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool of Great Britain were upset by Robert Cash and JJ Tracy of the United States, 6-3, 6-4.

Monday’s Italian Open results

Tuesday’s Italian Open order of play

By the numbers

Italian No. 3 Flavio Cobolli is 23-9 on clay since the start of the 2025 season (9-3 in 2026), including titles in Bucharest and Hamburg last season and a run to his first ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal in Madrid last week.

“Quotable …”

“I’m very happy. It’s never easy to play an Italian here in Rome. I tried to play my tennis. Matteo played very well in the second and third sets, so I just tried to be there every point and accept whatever happened during the match.”

– No. 32 seed Rafael Jodar of Spain, during his on-court interview Sunday evening, after defeating 106th-ranked Italian wild card Matteo Arnaldi to advance to the fourth round. It was Jodar’s 14th victory on clay during the 2026 season.

 

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