Daniil Medvedev is looking to get some momentum going on clay ahead of Roland Garros at the Italian Open.
The Russian has featured at two clay-court events so far during the swing and suffered early exits in both.
Medvedev crashed out of the Monte-Carlo Masters in the opening round after being handed a heavy 6-0, 6-0 defeat by Matteo Berrettini.
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He then picked up just two wins at the Madrid Open before falling to Flavio Cobolli in the fourth round.
A former champion in Rome, Medvedev is bidding to reclaim the title at this year’s edition of the Italian Open, and he has just been given a boost en route.
Daniil Medvedev’s first opponent in Rome withdraws with illness
Medvedev was scheduled to take on Tomas Machac in his opening match of the 2026 Italian Open.
The two had played just once before on clay, with the sole meeting coming at Roland Garros in 2024, where Machac gave Medvedev a run for his money by forcing a fourth set.
But their Italian Open meeting has been cancelled after the Czech star withdrew from the tournament due to illness.
Medvedev will advance to the third round and is now just one win away from matching his finishes at the Italian Open from both 2024 and 2025.
After clinching the title in 2023, Medvedev has suffered two consecutive fourth-round exits, losing to Tommy Paul and Lorenzo Musetti in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Daniil Medvedev’s hurdles at the 2026 Italian Open
Medvedev has a fairly difficult draw at the Italian Open, and his path to the title is made incredibly tough as he is on a semifinal collision course with Jannik Sinner.
To get to the clash with the world number one, he may have to battle past the likes of Felix-Auger Aliassime and Joao Fonseca.
In Sinner’s quarter of the draw, Jakub Mensik, Arthur Fils and Ben Shelton will be looking to cause an upset.
Should Medvedev reach the final, his most likely opponent will be Alexander Zverev, who is seeded second in Rome.
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