Episode Details

After a far less-than-ideal tournament in Rome with many rain delays and a clear demonstration that the men's event is still the most important thing, we still got to enjoy some seriously good tennis.

While neither one of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were not present in the final after a remarkable 18 years, the new guard has stepped up to bring the level we all expect from one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world. Holger Rune was responsible for stopping Djokovic from reaching another final, defeating the 22-time major champion in the quarter-finals. But arguably the story of the men's event was the self-proclaimed clay-hater and hard court specialist Daniil Medvedev, who showed tremendous form on clay after never having won a single match in Rome - and finally took down Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune on rout to his sixth ATP Masters 1000 title. What will he accomplish at Roland Garros, now that he is No.1 in the Race and the World No.2?

On the women's side, Iga Swiatek started her title defense as well as she could possibly hope for, losing two games in two matches. But the ending was far from ideal from the dominant World No.1, as she was forced to retire against Elena Rybakina after two exciting sets of tennis with an injury. If her Roland Garros title defense was already looking more difficult due to the newly energized Aryna Sabalenka, champion in Madrid over the Pole herself, now that Elena Rybakina is showing great form on clay, an injury was the last thing Swiatek wanted. Is the 2023 WTA Big 3 going to give the world another series of tennis showdowns in Paris? Are we looking at the Stuttgart, Madrid, or Rome champion as the big favourite for the coveted title at Roland-Garros?

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