Daniil Medvedev has said he wouldn’t skip Roland Garros in the future despite another early exit in Paris.
The former world number one suffered a 6-2 1-6 6-1 1-6 6-4 defeat to Adam Walton on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
Medvedev did have a flurry of break points in the deciding set and even had a break lead in the final set before losing the contest.
After the match Medvedev stated he didn’t play well enough to win the match and denied the fact that the heat played a part in his defeat, “Yeah, not an easy match. Didn’t play my best tennis,” Medvedev said in his press conference.
“He played good some moments, some moments not that good, and I managed to take the match when he didn’t play that well. That’s it. I didn’t manage to raise my level enough to win the whole match, and that’s why I lost. I felt okay with the heat. I mean, it’s not easy for anyone to play in this heat, but I felt okay with it. Generally, I felt like we were, you know, “fresh,” I mean, okay in the fifth, like we were running and stuff like this. Nobody was cramping or something.
“I don’t think the heat played any role except that it’s just a bit different to play in the heat on clay, but again, that’s just normal.”
It’s the third time in four years that Medvedev has lost in the first round following defeats to Cameron Norrie last year and Thiago Seyboth Wild in 2023.
Despite the poor form in Paris Medvedev has absolutely no intention of skipping the event, “No, no, no, no, I mean, unless I’m injured, of course,” Medvedev emphatically said when asked whether he would skip Roland Garros in the future.
“But no, I mean, even one time I had this hernia injury, and I could consider skipping it and prepare for Wimbledon, like, being more, let’s even call it, healthy. But no, I want to play Grand Slams. Same to the previous question. I know that I am in good shape and I can play well in Roland Garros, as well. I can. It’s just tougher for me, and first rounds are usually tougher for me, but I will always come here.
“Maybe I should consider playing a tournament before, which I usually don’t do before Grand Slams, but I mean, when it doesn’t work, why not? So that’s the only thing I will consider next year.”
Next up for Medvedev is the grass court season and Wimbledon where he has reached the semi-finals in the past.
Despite his unpredictable form Medvedev is confident of bouncing back at SW19, “It is possible. At the same time, I do feel like I was, and I do think I am still usually good in Grand Slams, meaning yes, I can lose, even now first round, but I don’t think, if I might say, I lost the ability to perform in Grand Slams,” Medvedev stated about his Grand Slam form.
“So I do think it can come back any moment, meaning at Wimbledon, for example. But again, if we talk in general about all four Grand Slams, I think if we compared all four Grand Slams to five years ago, the game is different in these Grand Slams, and I don’t think it suits me well. So it’s very tough for me to get the rhythm going. First round is the toughest one, and once I get through it, maybe I can do better.”
