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Heading into Rome, Medvedev had won 18 of his
19 titles - including the 2021 U.S. Open - on hardcourts, with
his Mallorca Open victory on grass the same year the only
exception.
The 27-year-old, who previously made no secret of his dislike
for clay, was a player transformed at the Italian Open and ended
the tournament with a 7-5 7-5 win over rising Dane Holger Rune.
Asked where his victory ranked among his many successes,
Medvedev told reporters: "In a way, number one, just because
it's the first one on clay and it's unbelievable.
"I'd never have thought I'd be able to make this. I have to be
honest, a Grand Slam is always bigger. The U.S. Open is always
number one there.
"This one is special because I didn't think it was going to
happen. I still don't believe - not that I won it, but I played
so well this week."
Medvedev said using new strings this year had helped his clay
game as they were softer and aided his deep groundstrokes.
But there were some concerns at the beginning of the year when
they did not work as well on the hardcourts in Australia.
"I was 100% doubting myself," Medvedev said.
"Should I go back to the old ones, I was playing good with it? I
said 'no, let's try more'. Now it's unbelievable."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter
Rutherford)
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