A week and a half after Russia’s Daniil Medvedev scored the winning goal against world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of the Italian Open, his struggles on clay have returned. Medvedev was eliminated in the first round at Roland Garros for the second year in a row and third time in the past four seasons, ostensibly the victim of another upset.
The 30-year-old Medvedev, seeded sixth at Roland Garros, earned his first win against a top-10 opponent on Tuesday with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 victory over Australia’s Adam Walton in a grueling five-set match that lasted three-and-a-half hours in the Parisian heat.
advertisement
Walton received a wild card invitation to the Grand Slam and was ranked 97th in the ATP rankings. He will face American Zachary Sweida in the second round on Thursday.
Play 2026 Soccer Pick ‘Em on FOX One and pick your players for the world’s biggest soccer tournament
At the podium, Medvedev did not blame the Jekyll and Hyde play on the boiling temperatures, which were predicted to reach at least 90 degrees. That said, he acknowledged that such heat does affect surfaces. After all, it is known that the faster clay dries, the faster the court can be played.
“I mean, I don’t want to find excuses,” said Medvedev, the former world No. 1 who drew the most attention at the 2021 U.S. Open.
advertisement
“I know why I don’t always play my best at Roland Garros, but it’s an excuse, so I keep it to myself.”
Medvedev was not defensive in his post-match press conference. He came to terms with the loss and shared some insights behind the ups and downs of the day, and more generally his career.
“Every tournament has different courts, different balls, different things… what else?” Medvedev said. “That means I can do something different every day.”
Medvedev gave an example, pointing out that he is not much of a morning person and that his play suffers when he has to get up early. On Tuesday, he and Walton played the first game of the day on Suzanne Lenglen Court.
advertisement
“In tennis you have to adapt to things. Sometimes I’m not good enough to adapt to it and sometimes I can adapt to it,” he explained. “And that’s basically all I can tell you.”
A reporter followed up and respectfully suggested that Medvedev, who was runner-up at the Australian Open in 2021, 2022 and 2024, might be selling himself short.
“My tennis depends on some things that I can’t control. That is, if the ball doesn’t fly, I don’t have the strength to fly the ball,” Medvedev explained.
“Yannik, it doesn’t matter. The ball doesn’t go, he hits it with all his might. The ball goes, but he just makes a little adjustment and it doesn’t go all out. I go all out, and if the ball doesn’t go, it doesn’t go.”
advertisement
Although Medvedev acknowledged his shortcomings, he expressed confidence that he can play well again at Grand Slams and do even better at Roland Garros. When asked if he had ever considered sitting out the tournament, he quickly dismissed the idea.
“No, no, no, no, no,” he said. “Of course, if I hadn’t been injured. But no, I had a hernia injury once. So I could have skipped that and prepared for Wimbledon… But no, I want to play in a Grand Slam.”
He added: “I know I’m in good shape and I can play well at Roland Garros. I can do it. It’s just tough for me, the first round is always tough for me, but I’m always going to come here. Maybe I should think about playing in a tournament before then. I don’t usually do it before a Grand Slam, but I mean, when it doesn’t work out, why not do it? So that’s the only thing I’m thinking about next year.”
