Daniil Medvedev lays down French Open gauntlet: ‘I’m playing the best tennis of my life on clay’
Daniil Medvedev believes that he is playing the ‘best’ clay-court tennis of his life, just days before he begins his French Open campaign.
The Russian has had a mixed 2025 season, with his best result arriving at the Indian Wells Masters – where he made the semi-finals.
However, he has shown solid clay-court form, with all three of his losses coming to top 10 players (Alex de Minaur in Monte Carlo, Casper Ruud in Madrid, and Lorenzo Musetti in Rome).
It was on the clay that Medvedev’s most recent title arrived, at the 2023 edition of the Rome Masters.
“On clay I personally feel like I’m playing, honestly, the best level of my life on clay, even considering Rome title [in 2023],” the former world No 1 said, during his French Open press conference.
“A lot of things came together. If we talk about the game, like the movement, the game, the feeling of the game, I do think I play my best season on clay. So it’s tough for me to answer.
“On hard courts it’s easier for me to answer that, yes, I’m far from the Daniil that I was on hard courts. On clay I feel like I’m even better than before. So that’s all I can answer.
“That’s good for Roland-Garros because I’ll try to show it.”
Whilst the French Open is the only Grand Slam where Medvedev has failed to reach the semi-finals, the 2021 US Open champion has made the last 16 on three of his last four appearances, with his best result being a quarter-final result in 2021 (losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas).
The Russian’s first match at the Parisian Grand Slam will be an exciting clash against Cameron Norrie, with either Alexander Shevchenko or Federico Gomez awaiting in the second round.
Should he get through both matches, he would likely face 22nd seed Ugo Humbert, before being projected to face Novak Djokovic in the fourth round.
“Roland-Garros can be tough because sometimes it’s very cold at night, try to hit a winner if you’re not Carlos [Alcaraz] or Jannik [Sinner],” analysed Medvedev.
“Sometimes it can be sunny day where the ball is jumping and it’s tough to control. Just have to adapt.”
“I feel that I’m really not far from a great level – when I say ‘great level,’ where everything is possible, where finals are possible, Grand Slams are possible, everything. But this not far sometimes is the toughest step. Guys play well.
“Younger guys, Carlos plays well, Jannik plays well. They probably play a bit better than everyone else right now on tour.”
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The one-time Grand Slam champion has failed to reach the final at any event since the Indian Wells Masters in 2024, with the relatively poor results recently pushing him out of the world’s top 10.
In the live rankings, Medvedev possesses 3290 points – putting him at the world No 11 spot, just 150 points behind world No 10 Holger Rune.
Despite the dip in consistency, the Russian has strongly denied that the thought of retirement has entered his head.
“It’s not easy. But for the moment, I don’t have these [retirement] thoughts,” admitted Medvedev.
“I mean, I would more understand the question if I’m, like, which ranking would I put, without injuries, out of top 50 would be tough.
“I’m [world No] 11. I’m, like, really close by the points to top 10. So far it’s fine, but I want to be better.”
