Daniil Medvedev’s Roland Garros struggles continued to rear their ugly head on Tuesday.
Wildcard Adam Walton stunned the former world number one in five sets, triumphing 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
This really was a devastating loss for Medvedev, who led 4-2 in the final set before losing four consecutive games – and the match.
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Medvedev has historically struggled at the French Open: Tuesday’s defeat to Walton represented his seventh first-round exit at the event.
As Tim Henman remarked, Medvedev truly does have a ‘love-hate relationship with clay.’
John McEnroe, a seven-time major champion, has offered his take on Medvedev’s Roland Garros plight.
John McEnroe suggests Daniil Medvedev came into Roland Garros with a ‘bad attitude’
“He has lost six or seven times in the first round. Normally he plays pretty well in best of five because he is committed and knows what it takes,” McEnroe said on TNT Sports.
“But the thing is when it gets hot I can tell you from experience, you are not quite as patient and you tap out a lot quicker. It’s hard to think.
“He should have won that. He was up in the fifth, he was up a break, he had all types of chances to win that match and he let it slip away.
“That last game was fairly lame! To just give it away at 5-4 in the fifth. I am surprised.
“For a guy who a lot of times in his career has been so tough mentally. It’s like he completely loses it here.
“He comes in with a bad attitude, I am guessing.”
For Medvedev, this result was the latest in a long line of disappointing results at the French Open.
Medvedev has reached the quarter-final stage once in Paris. He has also qualified for the fourth round twice and – as already mentioned – has suffered an astonishing seven first-round exits in the French capital.
The good news for Medvedev is that he also lost in the first round of last year’s Roland Garros event, meaning he will not lose any ranking points following his loss to Walton on Tuesday.
Daniil Medvedev’s Roland Garros record
- 2017 – First round
- 2018 – First round
- 2019 – First round
- 2020 – First round
- 2021 – Quarter-finals
- 2022 – Fourth round
- 2023 – First round
- 2024 – Fourth round
- 2025 – First round
- 2026 – First round
Daniil Medvedev says he won’t skip Roland Garros in the future
After a career of underwhelming results in Paris, one would understand if the French Open has become a lesser priority for the Russian.
The Russian has historically struggled on clay, with his only triumph on the surface occurring at the 2023 Italian Open.
Despite his struggles in Roland Garros, Medvedev has insisted that he will not skip the tournament in the future.
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“No, no, no, no, no… I mean, unless I’m injured, of course,” Medvedev said during his post-match press conference.
“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. 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.”
