Daniil Medvedev Thinks He’s Playing ‘Best Tennis on Clay’ Despite Mediocre Performances

Daniil Medvedev has not yet progressed to the semifinals of the French Open where he produced his best performance in 2021.

Daniil Medvedev Thinks He’s Playing ‘Best Tennis on Clay’ Despite Mediocre Performances

Daniil Medvedev (Image via /Meddy Family)

Daniil Medvedev will kick-start his French Open campaign on May 27th. He will be up against Britain’s Cameron Norrie.

In the pre-tournament press conference, the Russian assessed his performances in the season. He acknowledged that he produced mediocre results on the hard courts but was content with his performance on clay.

I personally feel like I’m playing the best level of my life on clay. Even considering the Rome title, a lot of things came together. But if we talk about the game.. the movement, the feeling of the game. I do think I’m playing my best season on clay. So it’s tough for me to answer. On hard courts, it’s easier for me to answer. Yes, I’m far from the Daniil that I was on hard courts.

Medvedev is 6-3 on clay this season and produced his best when he reached the quarterfinal of the Madrid Open. He hasn’t yet won a title since winning the Italian Open in 2023.

At the French Open, Medvedev’s best performance came in 2021 when he reached the quarterfinals. Since reaching the last eight, the 29-year-old advanced to the fourth round of the clay-court Major in 2022 and 2024. Last year, Australia’s Alex de Minaur knocked him out in four sets.

Medvedev holds a 4-0 head-to-head record over his Roland Garros first-round opponent Norrie. The upcoming match will be their second encounter on clay following this year’s Rome Open second round, which Medvedev had won in straight sets.

Daniil Medvedev refrains from answering his pick for the French Open

In Men’s singles, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, and Novak Djokovic are the favorites to win. In Women’s singles, there are six heavy favorites: Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Qinwen Zheng, Jasmine Paolini, and Mirra Andreeva. When Daniil Medvedev was asked who he thinks has a shot at the French Open, he joked that he would not be answering the question.

Jasmine Paolini, Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek
Jasmine Paolini, Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek (Image via X/Jasmine Paolini, We Are Tennis, The Tennis Letter, Relevant Tennis)

Women’s singles? Actually not easy. But I would go with…You know what? I’m not going to answer this question for an obvious reason because I have my pick but I won’t want to say it out loud, so I can’t. But if you see me the next tournament, you ask me if that was my pick or not.

Daniil Medvedev told Tennis Channel

Sabalenka, even though she hasn’t yet progressed to the final, has performed exceptionally well this season. She has so far reached six finals, winning three titles, including her third Madrid Open by beating Gauff.

The American is a two-time finalist on clay this season. Apart from Madrid, she reached the Italian Open final, only to lose the match to Paolini.

The Italian ace was the runner-up last year but she was no match for Swiatek, who then became a four-time Grand Slam champion. But since that victory, the five-time Grand Slam champion failed to reach a singles final.

She was expected to end her trophy drought on clay. After her Stuttgart Open defeat to Jelena Ostapenko (who also improved her head-to-head over the Pole to 6-0), Swiatek lost the Madrid Open semifinal to Gauff and the Italian Open third round to Danielle Collins. She was the defending champion in Madrid and Rome.

It was Swiatek, who Zheng had knocked out in the Paris Olympics semifinal before beating Donna Vekic to take home the gold medal. Medvedev’s compatriot, Andreeva, on the other hand, has not performed well on the clay this season. But has two WTA 1000 titles under her belt, lifting them at the Qatar Open and at Indian Wells. Is it Andreeva who Medvedev has picked?

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