Daniil Medvedev’s Rome Open Title Defense Halted by Tommy Paul

At the last-16 stage of the Rome Open, Daniil Medvedev’s (28) bid to defend his title came to an abrupt end on Tuesday as he was ousted in straight sets by Tommy Paul (26), with a scoreline of 6-1, 6-4.

The second-seeded Medvedev, who has yet to successfully defend an ATP Tour title, faced a significant setback against the determined American, suffering his first defeat against the former US Open champion.

Paul will advance to the quarter-finals to face Hubert Hurkacz, who earlier eliminated Rafael Nadal in the tournament.

Despite a favorable opportunity at the Foro Italico, Medvedev faltered, joining the list of prominent players who exited the tournament prematurely just ahead of this month’s French Open.

Rome’s roster lacks the world’s top four ranked men following Novak Djokovic’s departure on Sunday, along with Italian world number two Jannik Sinner and third-ranked Carlos Alcaraz withdrawing due to injuries prior to the event.

Holger Rune, last year’s finalist against Medvedev, and Madrid champion Andrey Rublev, ranked sixth globally, along with beaten finalist Felix Auger-Aliassime, were also eliminated on Saturday.

Seizing the opportunity is world number five and 2017 Rome champion Alexander Zverev, who secured a spot in the quarter-finals after a convincing victory over unseeded Nuno Borges, setting up a clash with Taylor Fritz.