French Open: Daniil Medvedev with high expectations - even on clay
Daniil Medvedev announced on Media Day at the French Open that he was in good spirits for the upcoming major. And that although this was held on its extremely unloved sand.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
May 29, 2021, 09:18 am
Communicating so aggressively that you really wouldn't have any fun with an underground seems at first glance to be a paradox for a tennis professional. Especially since the tennis professional, who has done this par excellence in the course of the season so far, is number two in the current ATP world rankings - and can also call himself the reigning ATP world champion.
No, that Daniil Medvedev doesn't really enjoy doing his craft on the "red ashes", that shouldn't be a secret since his verbal failures at the European clay court classics. It is all the more surprising that the Russian announced in the run-up to the French Open that he is in good shape and that he has a good chance of a successful stay at the Bois de Bolougne.
Medvedev with high expectations
"I did the first training yesterday and the truth is that I felt incredibly good. My performance was outstanding, it is as if I were not on clay," said Medvedev on the Media Day of the French Open . In particular, the balls are a factor that could be beneficial to his game, explained Medvedev. "I think they will benefit me a lot this year and it makes me feel like I can do very well."
Now Medvedev hopes that as few stones as possible - in the form of dedicated clay court specialists - are put in the way: "I hope that I meet people who don't feel so comfortable on sand, who are not specialists, but to be honest I have to say that my expectations are very high at the moment, "said Medvedev, for whom an automatic win at this year's French Open would be the same as the first individual win at the Stade Roland Garros.
Confident of reaching the semifinals
It is paradoxical that Medvedev is better placed in this year's French Open than Rafael Nadal, who has already won the tournament 13 times. But fair, as the Russian emphasizes: "I would be placed second in any tournament in the world. I think that will help me a lot here. I am confident of reaching the semi-finals," said the 25-year-old.
The lottery ticket, however, did not mean it really well with the ATP Finals winner from the previous year: In round one, Medvedev meets the Kazakh Bublik, who has had reasonably good results in the previous clay court season, including the quarterfinals in Madrid. A possible opponent in the quarter-final would be Stefanos Tsitsipas. Who has a lot more fun with the clay court than Medvedev.