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World No. 2 lifted maiden tour-level clay-court trophy in Rome earlier this month
Daniil Medvedev may be in the clay-court form of his life, but he is taking nothing for granted at Roland Garros.

The World No. 2 arrived in Paris for the second Grand Slam of the season fresh from lifting his maiden tour-level title on clay in Rome. Medvedev’s charge to his sixth ATP Masters 1000 crown was the latest demonstration of his development on a surface that he has long listed as his least favourite on the ATP Tour.

Now the owner of a 10-2 record on clay for the season, Medvedev has emerged as one of the pre-tournament favourites for Roland Garros despite never having previously advanced past the quarter-finals. The 27-year-old acknowledged the positive vibes from Rome still linger, but he is reluctant to get carried away as he prepares for his first-round match against a qualifier in the French capital.

“I don't want to put too much pressure on myself, in a way,” said Medvedev on Friday at his pre-tournament press conference. “But what happened in Rome was amazing, especially beating a lot of good players, you know: Zverev, Tsitsipas, Rune, Zapata Miralles, Ruusuvuori, who went three sets with Alcaraz in Madrid.

“That's an amazing feeling, and I for sure maybe have more expectation than I usually have in Roland Garros. But I know that it's also tricky and you have to kind of use this confidence, but not get cocky, because that's where the danger is. Sometimes you think, ‘Oh, well, I played so well, now it's going to be easy’. Then the first round you have problems. You can get angry and maybe lose the match.

“I have been in this situation many times, and I just want to try to play good tennis here in Roland Garros.”

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Medvedev described feeling good from the moment he stepped on the practice court in Rome, and the second seed has already begun adapting to the slightly different conditions in Paris. However, the 20-time tour-level titlist is reluctant to read too much in to his pre-tournament sessions as he bids for his first Grand Slam crown since his 2021 US Open triumph.

“I had two practices here. I felt good. Both of them on [Court Philippe Chatrier],” said Medvedev. “I felt good, played kind of like in Rome. It's a little bit different here. The balls are much heavier, so I'm sure it's going to be much more rallies than previous years. They felt really heavy for whatever reason.

“I felt good. Maybe not as amazing as in Rome, but again, it really doesn't matter that match, and the most important is when the tournament starts.”

Medvedev’s stellar 2023 has carried the 27-year-old within reach of a return to the No. 1 spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. He attributed his red-hot form on hard courts across February and March, when he won trophies in Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai, and Miami, as key to his subsequent success in a part of the year when he has historically struggled.

“I think the fact that I started the year so well, without talking about Australia, helped me to just be confident in myself and kind of say, ‘OK, I don't like clay but let's try to do something big’.”

Insights provided by Tennis Data Innovations
Daniil Medvedev has made no secret about his surface preference. The 27-year-old likes hard courts the most and it is not particularly close.

But entering Roland Garros, he is enjoying more success than ever on clay. Seeded second in Paris, Medvedev is fresh off winning a clay-court ATP Masters 1000 title in Rome, where he had never previously won a match.

"Friendship. I don't think I love it," Medvedev said after defeating Holger Rune in the final, cracking a laugh. "I love hard courts, my only love in tennis. But I definitely like clay courts much more now."

According to Insights provided by Tennis Data Innovations, Medvedev's performance on clay this year has been close to his level on his beloved hard courts.

Medvedev Insights: Hard vs Clay

Hard 2023 Clay 2023 Tour Average
Tournaments Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai,
Indian Wells, Miami Monte-Carlo,
Madrid, Rome All ATP Events
Forehand Shot Quality 8.2 8 7.2
Conversion Score 71% 71% 68%
Steal Score 42% 40% 32%
Baseline Points Won 59% 57% 50%
Medvedev crafted a jaw-dropping stretch of tennis when he won titles in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai, reached the final in Indian Wells and then lifted the trophy in Miami. Unsurprisingly, those are hard-court tournaments.

But his performance metrics on clay in Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome closely rivaled his efforts during that red-hot streak earlier in the year. Could Medvedev the hard-court savant be harnessing his game on the dirt?

The numbers indicate he is coming close. Medvedev's forehand shot quality, which analyses the shot's speed, spin, depth, width and the impact it has on the opponent, was 8.2 across the aforementioned hard-court tournaments. At the three clay-court Masters 1000 events, it was close behind at 8.

The ATP Tour average is 7.2. Medvedev actually made a higher percentage of forehands in the court on clay without any dropoff in speed and minimal change in spin.

Medvedev Forehand Insights: Hard vs Clay

Hard 2023 Clay 2023 Tour Average
Tournaments Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai,
Indian Wells, Miami Monte-Carlo,
Madrid, Rome All ATP Events
Forehand Shot Quality 8.2 8 7.2
Forehands In 88% 89% 85%
Forehand Speed (mph) 75 mph 75 mph 75 mph
Forehand Topspin (rpm) 2,467 2,404 2,716
Medvedev's conversion score, which measures the percentage of points won when a player is in attack, was the same at 71 per cent. His steal score, which calculates percentage of points won in defence, was 40 per cent, just behind his 42 per cent at the five hard-court tournaments.

The 27-year-old's steal score in Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome was the best on Tour. Not bad for a player who has often said he hates the surface.

Medvedev won 57 per cent of his baseline points during the clay-court Masters 1000 tournaments, which also led the Tour, with Rune in second.

Most people do not consider Medvedev a clay-court threat, but the numbers show he should be.

The second seed will begin his run at Roland Garros on Tuesday against qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild.

Second seed reflects on his clay-court season
Daniil Medvedev was quick to credit his opponent, Thiago Seyboth Wild, after losing in the first round at Roland Garros.

“Tough match. I don't know. I'm not going to look at it back on TV but my feeling was that he played well. I don't think I played that bad, but he played well,” Medvedev said. “The thing is that it's always the same. If he continues to play that way, my opinion, end of the year, he's Top 30. But last time I said something like this about someone, he didn't manage to do it. But great for him to play like this today.

“I honestly hope he's going to play like this later on, because if not, I'm going to be disappointed. I'm going to be like, ‘Why today? Why not in two days?’”

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Medvedev appeared to take control when he won the third set 6-2 to earn a two-sets-to-one advantage. But Seyboth Wild controlled many of the baseline exchanges, hitting 69 winners to triumph after five sets across four hours and 15 minutes.

“I think I was fighting well. Physically I was not feeling that bad. I mean, I'm a little bit tired now, but also when you lose your body goes down faster. If I would win I would not feel that tired,” Medvedev said. “Mentally I was fighting. I was fighting. The last game, brought it back to 30-All, guy makes two winners, okay, whatever. Hopefully can make it next time.

“For sure I'm really disappointed. I'm going to be [for] one week thinking about this match, but for the moment I don't see anything wrong I did. I mean, double faults, the wind was crazy today, so it was not easy… I don't see anything I could really do better. That's good. That's when you can bounce back faster in the next tournaments.”

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The second seed enjoyed a breakthrough clay-court season. Just more than a week ago, he earned his first title on the surface when he triumphed at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome. However, he is still happy to depart the surface.

“It didn't change one time that every time it finishes I'm happy. So I'm happy. I'm happy again. Doesn't matter, one time quarters, one time fourth round, a lot of times first round,” Medvedev said. “Today I had because [of the] wind, dry court, I had a mouthful of clay since probably [the] third game of the match, and I don't like it. I don't know if people like to eat clay, to have clay in their bags, in their shoes, the socks, white socks, you can throw them to garbage after clay season. Maybe some people like it. I don't.

“I am happy to have it finished. I'm going to have to have a good time off. Have to find positives. A lot of relaxing [in the] next days. Happy to go to the next challenges even if, for sure, I wanted to stay longer in Paris, even if it's clay.”

Medvedev will move forward with confidence knowing that despite his early loss in Paris, he found his footing on clay.

“Before sometimes I was feeling, ‘Wow, I really cannot do anything.’ Today I felt like I [was] doing what I had to do, and he played well, so let's continue. And, well, the match was over and I didn't manage to win it,” Medvedev said. “But definitely amazing. Rome is unbelievable. I never thought I'm going to win a tournament on clay. Not talking about a Masters. So have to think more about this right now than Roland Garros, unfortunately.

“Next year I'm going to be maybe even more motivated to try to repeat the success of this year.”