Daniil Medvedev lost to the 172nd racket of the world

The third day of the French Open, held in Paris, was marked by an unexpected defeat of the second racket of the world, Daniil Medvedev. One of the main favorites of the tournament in 4 hours and 15 minutes in five games lost to the Brazilian Thiago Zeibot Wild, who occupies only 172nd place in the rating of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and made his way to the main draw through qualification. The correspondent of “Kommersant” tried to figure out the reasons for what happened on the court of Philippe Chatrier, the main arena of the Roland Garros stadium. Evgeny Fedyakov.

The sophisticated Parisian public, which during this match filled the stands of the 15,000-strong Philippe Chatrier court by about three quarters, certainly wanted just such a result. Simply because, other things being equal, outsiders are almost always supported more. Although along the way there was a segment when it seemed that surprises would not happen and at the end of this tennis meat grinder, not Daniil Medvedev would go to the hotel to rest defeated, but the 172nd racket of the world Brazilian Tiago Zeibot Wild. After losing the first game and losing 4-6 in the second game in a tie-break, the Russian by some miracle, largely due to other people’s mistakes, scratched out four points in a row, and then confidently left the third set behind him.

But then everything changed again. Zaybot Wild, who lost confidence in his abilities for 40 minutes, returned to a wild emotional mood, which allowed him to start an uncompromising struggle with one of the favorites.

And all the predictions about the excellent chances of the Russian to aim at the Parisian title, and with it the title of the first racket of the world, went to dust.

Confidently taking the fourth set, the 23-year-old Brazilian did not blunder in the fifth, ending the match after a double exchange of breaks with a solid right hand.

In the 4 hours and 15 minutes that this marathon lasted, Zeibot Wild’s first serve speed reached 225 km / h, and he won 69 points with blows right through – 24 more than Medvedev. The previous Brazilian tennis player to cause such a stir at Roland Garros was three-time (1997, 2000, 2001) French Open winner Gustavo Kuerten. True, the legendary Guga at least already regularly participated in ATP tournaments by the time of his breakthrough, while the 23-year-old Zeibot Wild won only nine matches in them.

The press conferences of the losers of such meetings sometimes make a depressing impression, but Medvedev behaved with dignity, not complaining about the reaction of the fans or the strong wind. First of all, he praised the opponent, who, in his opinion, showed incredible tennis and with such a game should be in the top thirty. “It happens that after a loss you want to say that I was terrible, and find a thousand reasons for the defeat. And in principle, if you want, you can find them. But these are excuses,” Medvedev said. “Today I played well, fought to the end, but no luck. It’s a shame, but it happens.” The Kommersant correspondent asked to what extent the change in the clay surface after the tournament in Rome, where he won just nine days ago, influenced the Russian’s game. Medvedev did not deny that the courts in Paris are different and the balls are heavier. “For those who use the brush more when hitting, such balls are easier to disperse. But in training, I beat almost all my opponents, among whom were quite strong players, ”he said.

All this, however, does not change the obvious fact that the sensational nature of Medvedev’s defeat can hardly be overestimated. The last time at the Grand Slam tournaments such an unexpected result with the participation of one of the two seeded players was recorded at Wimbledon in 2003, when the world ranking leader Australian Lleyton Hewitt lost to the 203rd racket of the world Croat Ivo Karlovic.

The Paris fiasco crosses out Medvedev from the number of contenders for the title of the first racket of the world according to the results of Roland Garros. Nevertheless, one should not forget that the first half of the year was extremely successful for him.

From February to mid-May, the Russian managed to win five titles, including two in the Masters 1000 category competitions. This allows him to quite confidently go ahead in terms of points scored this season, and it is far from certain that this leadership will pass to someone. something else. Bypass Medvedev can only be one of the three other favorites gathered in the other, upper half of the grid. Moreover, Carlos Alcaras needs to reach the final, and Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas need to win it. Medvedev, however, before starting preparations for the grass season, goes on a short vacation. True, where and how to conduct them, he has not yet decided.

Evgeny Fedyakov