One week prior to the start of Roland Garros, much has been revealed. Rome’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia crowned a new women’s champion who’s in the middle of a great year. On the men’s side, the absence of Rafael Nadal from Roland Garros further highlights the possibilities for a wide range of contenders.
Here’s a look at what happened, what will happen.
Entering the Italian Open this year Daniil Medvedev had 32 career titles, and the only one that wasn’t on hardcourt was on grass at Mallorca in 2021. So, despite his No. 3-seeding in Rome, he was hardly a favorite at the clay event – he had never advanced past the second round in his prior attempts.
But that all changed Sunday, when the 27-year-old won the Italian Open title with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Holger Rune in the final. Medvedev surprised many people, including himself, with the result.
In women’s Singles, Elena Rybakina defeated Anhelina Kalinina 6-4, 1-0 (retired) in the final of the 2023 Italian Open . The match was delayed by rain for over four hours, and Kalinina was forced to retire after sustaining a left thigh injury while trailing 6-4, 1-0.
Here are the results of the 2023 Italian Open in table form:
Category | Winner | Runner-up |
Men’s Singles | Daniil Medvedev | Holger Rune |
Women’s Singles | Elena Rybakina | Anhelina Kalinina |
Men’s Doubles | Hugo Nys and Jan Zieliński | Robin Haase and Botic van de Zandschulp |
Women’s Doubles | Storm Sanders and Elise Mertens | Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula |
Our next stop is the 2023 French Open.
The second Grand Slam of the season will see the world’s best players compete at Roland Garros, with Carlos Alcaraz, 22-time major champion Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and last year’s finalist Casper Ruud among those in action.
Roland Garros 2023 will be held from 28 May-11 June. The clay-court Grand Slam tournament, established in 1891, will take place at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, France.
The qualifying rounds will take place from May 22 to 26. But before that, fans are eagerly awaiting for the French Open draw to be revealed.
The draw ceremony for this year’s edition of men’s and women’s singles will take place on Thursday, May 25 at 2 pm local time. The doubles draw will be unveiled on May 28 at 12 pm.
The prize money for Roland Garros is €49,600,000.
Carlos Alcaraz will be the top men’s seed, despite his early exit at the Italian Open as he has overtaken Novak Djokovic as world No. 1 after the tournament.
Djokovic will be the third seed, behind Daniil Medvedev, who moved up to world No. 2 following his victory at the Italian Open.
Last year’s runner-up Casper Ruud is the fourth seed ahead of former runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas and new world No. 6 Holger Rune.
Defending champion Iga Swiatek will lead the women’s draw as the top seed. She’s the outright favorite to claim her third title at the venue. Aryna Sabalenka is seeded second. Despite an early exit from the Italian Open, she remains one of the leading title contenders.
While most top players are expected to be in Paris, the most prolific player in the history of Roland Garros could end up giving it a miss this time.
Nadal originally said he would miss up to eight weeks after suffering a grade two iliopsoas tear at the Australian Open in January.
However, he has not played any matches since and he has confirmed he will not play in Paris.
Nadal’s exit leaves Djokovic and Alcaraz as the leading contenders for the Grand Slam.