Italian Open 2024 Day 4 Recap – Perfect Tennis

The round of sixty-four at the 2024 Italian Open concluded on Saturday. Rafael Nadal exited the Foro Italico for the final time (Nadal is 98% sure) after being taken apart by Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets.

Elsewhere, Daniil Medvedev started his title defence with a solid win over Jack Draper and showed no signs of the right leg injury that forced him to retire from his quarter-final in Madrid.

Monte Carlo champion Stefanos Tstisipas came from a set down to take out Jan Lennard-Struff, with Andrey Rublev forced to do the same against Marcos Giron.

You can see the full results from day four below.

Day Four Italian Open 2024 Round of 64 Results

Hurkacz Halts Nadal

Hubert Hurkacz delivered a beat down at the Italian Open on Saturday, defeating Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-3.

The Pole came through a challenging first game, saving five break points, but after that, he took complete control with his powerful serve and aggressive groundstrokes.

Despite his best efforts, Nadal is not the player he once was and struggled to fend off Hurkacz’s heavy play, who saved all seven break points he faced.

In some ways, Nadal can take the positives of being on the receiving end of a beatdown as he can at least judge what he needs to truly compete and whether it’s indeed possible.

Looking ahead, Hurkacz aims to advance to the fourth round in Rome for the first time as he prepares to face 25th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who won his match against Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-3, 7-5.

It’s very special. We just had the opportunity to practise. Growing up, looking up to him and seeing him win all those titles, obviously here and at Roland Garros, it was just a special experience. I wanted to play him so much, especially on clay, so just being able to share the court with him, especially with the atmosphere at the beginning of the match, how people love him and support him… It’s tough to explain in words, but the atmosphere surrounding the match’s beginning was just different. That was probably the longest three games I will ever play in my life. I think I found my serve and that definitely helped my confidence build. Actually after those long games, I got into a pretty good rhythm and felt, ‘OK, I can go like this forever’. I just tried to compete. Obviously, the score looks the way it does, but I knew I had to be on top of my game throughout the whole match. If I had dropped just a little bit, he was going to be right back there. That was the really tough part, and I was trying to manage it as well as I could. Hurkacz on facing Nadal.

Medvedev Starts Title Defence with Solid Win

Daniil Medvedev launched his title defence at the Internazionali BNd’IBNd’Italiaiaaturday, securing his 100th ATP Masters 1000 match win with a hard-fought 7-5, 6-4 victory over Jack Draper.

The Russian has a somewhat Krypronite style for DrapeDraper’sr-based game. He plays with remarkable consistency and court coverage, which engages him in extended baseline rallies.

However, even though he can outlast him from the baseline, Meddy’s serve has looked like a shadow of itself this year, something he described as due to ‘external factors’.” He struggled for accuracy in the first set, making only 39% of his first serve. Still, he stayed composed and ramped up his performance in the second set, winning 14 straight points, significantly dampening Draper’s chance of an upset.

More importantly for his title defence chances, he showed no signs of the right leg issue that led to his withdrawal in Madrid, moving fluidly throughout the match.

It was not easy. I feel like the conditions are completely different from last year and Monte-Carlo and Madrid. It’s really slow and heavy here, so honestly, it’s tough to make a winner, and that’s what I saw in all the other matches. You need to work the opponent left-right-left-right, and you and your opponent get tired. I knew that before the match, so I’m happy that I managed to stay stronger. It was good that I managed to get in front. Even if then he started to play better, it was enough to have the margin. Pretty happy with my level and looking forward. I did a good job with my team to be ready. I knew two or three days ago that I was feeling better and better. Two days before the tournament, I was going 100 per cent in practice, so in a way, I was not worried, but it’s good to finally [play] a match and be more sure that yes, I can do it, and I have no pain. Medvedev on his win and injury from Madrid.

Rublev Grinds Past Giron

Andrey Rublev had a strange few days after battling illness to capture his second ATP Masters 1000 title in Madrid, but he spent two and a half days with a peritonsillar abscess.

With the Rome schedule accommodating Rublev’s latest possible start on Saturday evening, he endured even more drama, overcoming Marcos Giron 5-7, 6-4, 7-5.

The American served for the match after breaking at 4-4 in the final set but couldn’t get the job done, and Rublev reeled off the next three games to progress.

I was super angry with myself that I left a lot of emotions out today, and I was thinking, ‘It’s over, and I deserve to lose’. I was thinking it was over, and thinking again, I had a lot of chances, and I couldn’t make it because of my emotions. And somehow, I was able to start the game really well [when my opponent served for the match], and little by little, I was able to recover, so I was really lucky. Rublev on escaping vs Giron.

Other Matches of Note

De Minaur Too Good For Carballes Baena: A 6-3, 6-2 win for the Aussie whose foot speed and court coverage are proving a real handful this year.

Baez Beats Lajovic: The Argentine has yet to find his form during the Europen clay swing after his two titles in South America, but he recovered from 3-5 down in each set to see off Lajovic 7-6(3), 7-6(6).

Tsitsipas Survives Struff: The Greek smashed his racket after just one game against the hard-hitting German. He went on to lose the set on a tiebreak but worked his way back into it, taking the 2nd and 3rd 6-4 6-4.

Holger Rune Takes Out Nardi: A partisan crowd and the talented Italian weren’t enough to disrupt the Dane, who saved all six break points he faced and wrapped up the victory in one hour and 42 minutes. He will face 17th seed Sebastian Baez next.

Day 4 Highlights

Italian Open 2024 Day 5 Round of 32 Matches