Daniil Medvedev lost to Adam Walton in the first round of the French Open, 2-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-1, 4-6.
Having shown promising form on clay at the Italian Open, where he pushed Jannik Sinner close in the semi-finals, Medvedev was one of the first victims of the upset craze that swept across Roland Garros this year.
Will Daniil Medvedev ever win another Grand Slam title?
Looking to move past his French Open disappointment, Medvedev will now set his sights on the grass-court season and Wimbledon.
Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Sam Querrey has now predicted what Medvedev could achieve on grass this summer.
Sam Querrey backs Daniil Medvedev to win a tournament on grass and reach the Wimbledon semi-finals
During the latest episode of ‘Nothing Major‘, Querrey, John Isner, and Steve Johnson discussed players they would ‘buy or sell’ on grass this year.
Querrey named Medvedev as the player he would ‘buy’.
“Give me [Daniil] Medvedev,” said Querrey.
“He’s been streaky; he’s been good at times.
Daniil Medvedev’s 2026 record (24-9)
| Tournament | Performance | Match wins | Defeat |
| Brisbane International | Champion | 5 (Marton Fucsovics, Frances Tiafoe, Kamil Majchrzak, Alex Michelsen, Brandon Nakashima) | – |
| Australian Open | Fourth round | 3 (Jesper De Jong, Quentin Halys, Fabian Marozsan) | Learner Tien |
| Rotterdam Open | First round | – | Ugo Humbert |
| Qatar Open | Second round | 1 (Juncheng Shang) | Stefanos Tsitsipas |
| Dubai Tennis Championships | Champion | 4 (Juncheng Shang, Stan Wawrinka, Jenson Brooksby, Felix Auger-Aliassime) | – |
| Indian Wells | Final | 5 (Alejandro Tabilo, Sebastian Baez, Alex Michelsen, Jack Draper, Carlos Alcaraz) | Jannik Sinner |
| Miami Open | Third round | 1 (Rei Sakamoto) | Francisco Cerundolo |
| Monte Carlo Masters | Second round | – | Matteo Berrettini |
| Madrid Open | Fourth round | 2 (Fabian Marozsan, Nicolai Budkov Kjaer) | Flavio Cobolli |
| Italian Open | Semi-final | 3 (Pablo Llamas Ruiz, Thiago Agustin Tirante, Martin Landaluce) | Jannik Sinner |
| French Open | First round | – | Adam Walton |
| Libema Open (ongoing) | Quarter-final | 1 (Thijs Boogaard) | – |
“He hit like an all-time low at Roland Garros, losing to [Adam] Walton, who was ranked 900 in the world.
“But he’s going to bounce back.
“Give me Meddy to win a warm-up tournament on grass and then pop like a semi at Wimbledon, that’s kind of what I’m expecting from him.”
Querrey is expecting a grass-court title and a Wimbledon semi-final from Medvedev this year, but just how realistic a target is that?
Medvedev has won one title on grass, back in 2021, at the Mallorca Championships, where he beat Querrey in the final.
He has been to three finals since, losing to Tim Van Rijthoven in Rosmalen (2022) and to Hubert Hurkacz (2022) and Alexander Bublik (2025) in Halle.
His Wimbledon record is mixed, although Medvedev has reached the semi-finals in two of the last three years.
The former world number one made the last four in 2023 and 2024, before suffering a shock first-round defeat a year ago.
He’ll want to bounce back in 2026, but has work to do before Wimbledon begins.
Medvedev started his grass-court season at the Libema Open in the Netherlands, where he saved a match point in a three-set win over the 17-year-old Dutchman Thijs Boogaard.
“It’s grass, so matches like this happen. It’s not that easy to break so a lot of things come down to the serve,” said Medvedev in his on-court interview.
“I should have served it out for the match, but he played a good game, so happy to win.
“I think a bit of luck [helped me win], it’s 8-6 in the third, he had a match point, I had two before, it’s just whoever makes the better shot at the best time, and I managed to do it at the last point.
“We practised last year when he was 16 or 17. He plays some great tennis. I’m pretty sure you guys have a talent in your country, but you never know how high this talent is going to go, but I wish him all the best, he is a great guy.”
Medvedev will now turn his attention to the quarter-finals, where he will meet Marin Cilic.
Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson clash over Learner Tien prediction
Querrey’s co-host, Johnson, is hoping to see Medvedev’s rival impress on grass this season.
“I’m going to take Learner Tien,” said Johnson.
“Risky,” added Querrey.
“I don’t like it.”
“Why not, dude?” said Johnson.
“You’ve got to pick someone off the beaten path; I don’t want to pick [Ben] Shelton! He’s five in the world.
“Even though I think he’s going to have a great grass season.
“I think Learner is top 15 after the grass.”
Official ATP Rankings
- 15. Karen Khachanov – 2,320 points
- 16. Lorenzo Musetti – 2,315 points
- 17. Jakub Mensik – 2,300 points
- 18. Luciano Darderi – 2,300 points
- 19. Learner Tien – 2,270 points
- 20. Valentin Vacherot – 2,145 points
Disagreeing with Johnson, Querrey later picked Tien as his player to ‘sell’ on grass.
“I’m selling Learner Tien. He didn’t pop the serve on the grass; he hasn’t played a ton of grass-court events. I don’t think he’s going to do poorly… I just think it’s going to be a ho-hum grass-court season, second round, maybe pop a third round somewhere…” he said.
“I just think he’s lefty, the serve is going to help and his ball striking is insane,” Johnson said.
“I hope I’m wrong!” Querrey replied.
Tien reached the quarter-finals in Mallorca before losing in the second round of Wimbledon last year.
He will begin his 2026 grass-court campaign at the Halle Open, which starts on Monday, June 15.
