Daniil Medvedev has a clear objective for his opening match at Roland Garros: to earn his first tournament victory.
In all of his three previous visits to Stade Roland Garros, Medvedev has fallen in the first round. Most notably, the Russian fell in five sets to Pierre-Hugues Herbert after leading by two sets last year.
So while Medvedev has ambitions of lifting his first Grand Slam crown, the 24-year-old is not taking anything for granted as he seeks his first victory on the surface since his run to the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell final in April 2019.
“[I] would definitely be really excited to get my first win here. It's something for sure I want to get,” said Medvedev. “[I] will be super excited, super happy. Of course, I have to work really hard for it.”
Medvedev’s three previous losses in Paris have come against French players and the home nation was also responsible for the Russian’s first-round loss at his only clay-court event of this season: the Hamburg European Open. Medvedev played well in that match, but Humbert took his chances to earn his first Top 5 victory.
“I think the first match I played in Hamburg was not that bad. Humbert really showed his best tennis,” said Medvedev. “[For the] first match on clay with only three, four days' preparation, it was logical with the level that he showed that I lost. Hopefully, I can continue to raise my level regarding this match, then I think I can show some good results.”
It is clear that Medvedev does not play a similar style to Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem, who have used heavy spin from the baseline en route to the past two championship matches at this event. But the World No. 5 believes he can have success by trusting his typically flat groundstrokes, instead of trying to adapt his game to the surface as he has in the past.
“[Clay tennis] is easier for the guys who spin a lot, that's 100 per cent [true]. That's something I know how to do, that's something I tried on clay, but maybe I'm a little bit less effective than playing flat,” said Medvedev. “I was capable last year to show some really great results on clay.”
Medvedev has had success on clay in the past. Alongside his run to last year’s Barcelona final, the Moscow native also won back-to-back matches against Stefanos Tsitsipas and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic en route to the 2019 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters semi-finals.
Perhaps this could be the year that Medvedev’s game style pays dividends in Paris. The cooler conditions should lessen the impact of heavily-spun groundstrokes, which could provide the Russian with an advantage.
“It can help me that it's a bit colder, so the balls don't fly as much, don't go as spinny,” said Medvedev. “So maybe I can play some flat tennis, obviously in practices, before the match. I think it can be an opportunity for me actually, an advantage.”
The good news for Medvedev is, for the first time, he will not face French opposition in the first round. The 2019 US Open finalist will open his campaign against Marton Fucsovics of Hungary.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/336SwCY
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