ROME: Daniil Medvedev got an early boost in his campaign at the Italian Open after Czech player Tomas Machak withdrew from the tournament due to illness on Saturday. The withdrawal, confirmed by the ATP before the day’s play in Rome, gave former champion Medvedev a walkover into the third round, sparing the Russian from needing to take the court.
Machak, currently ranked 53rd in the world rankings, was scheduled to face Medvedev in one of the key second-round meetings at the Foro Italico. Instead, the 2023 Rome champion will now advance directly to face the winner of the clash between France’s Corentin Moutet and Spain’s Pablo Lamas Ruiz.
The late withdrawal forced organizers to make several changes to Saturday’s schedule. Andrey Rublev’s match against Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic was moved to Center Court, while the Moutet-Llamas Ruiz match was moved to the SuperTennis Arena.
Meanwhile, the action on Court 1 was rescheduled to begin at noon, with the match between Chile’s Christian Garin and Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina scheduled for just before 2:00 pm local time.
For Medvedev, the walkover comes at a fruitful moment in an otherwise inconsistent clay-court season. The former world No. 1 has struggled to find rhythm on the surface in recent weeks, suffering a shock first-round defeat to Matteo Berrettini at the Monte-Carlo Masters.
The Russian player showed some improvement at the Madrid Open 2026, winning two matches before losing to home favorite Flavio Coboli in the fourth round. However, Medvedev has previously enjoyed success by winning the title in Rome in 2023. Since then, he has suffered fourth consecutive round exits, losing to Tommy Paul in 2024 and Lorenzo Musetti last year.
The Russian still faces a tough road if he hopes to regain the title this season. He is expected to face world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals, with dangerous opponents like Felix Auger-Aliassime and rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca also lurking in their draw section.
Elsewhere in the Sinner’s Quarter, young stars Jakub Mencic, Arthur Philps and Ben Shelton are among the players aiming to make a splash in the tournament. Should Medvedev reach the championship match, second-seeded Alexander Zverev is considered the most likely finalist from the opposite side of the draw.