Daniil Medvedev suffers first-round French Open exit to Thiago Seyboth Wild

French Open
Daniil Medvedev tennis player

Second seed Daniil Medvedev was the first big casualty of the French Open after losing in five sets to Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild in the opening round.

On the court where Brazilian great Gustavo Kuerten lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires three times, 23-year-old Seyboth Wild delighted the Philippe Chatrier crowd with his attacking tennis.

After winning the opening set, he looked to have blown his chance when he failed to convert a 6-4 lead in the second-set tie-break and missed the easiest of overheads to hand Medvedev the set.

The Russian comfortably won the third as well but Seyboth Wild fought back brilliantly in the fourth and broke the Medvedev serve three times in the decider to win 7-6 (5) 6-7 (6) 2-6 6-3 6-4, clinching his first grand slam win with his 69th winner.

Medvedev became increasingly riled by the crowd, gesturing for them to be quiet, and ranted incessantly at his box before departing the arena without acknowledging the fans.

Speaking afterwards, he said: “The only thing was when I asked the umpire to check the mark. It was pretty close, in my opinion. I was just discussing with her where does she see the ball and getting booed for whatever reason. I just told them to shut up, and that’s it. I don’t think I played that bad, but he played well.”

A committed clayphobe in his younger days, Medvedev has improved considerably on the surface, reaching the quarter-finals here in 2021 and winning his first Masters title on the red stuff in Rome earlier this month.

That achievement positioned him firmly among the title contenders but instead he suffered his first opening-round loss at a slam for four years.

READ MORE: Why Alexander Zverev ‘appreciates it even more’ after first round win at French Open

The bottom half of the men’s draw is now a land of opportunity, with already no former grand slam champions left.

Fourth seed Casper Ruud, the beaten finalist last year, has endured a difficult season so far but eased to a 6-4 6-3 6-2 win over Elias Ymer while Alexander Zverev won his first match at Roland Garros since the serious ankle injury he suffered in last year’s semi-final, beating Lloyd Harris 7-6 (6) 7-6 (0) 6-1.

Sixth seed Holger Rune will fancy his chances of reaching the final and he recovered from losing the second set to beat American Chris Eubanks 6-4 3-6 7-6 (2) 6-2 while ninth seed Taylor Fritz raced past Michael Mmoh 6-2 6-1 6-1.

Daniil Medvedev Thiago Seyboth Wild

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