JAKARTA - Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev was surprisingly eliminated in the first round of the French Open 2023. Sadly, he lost to Brazilian 172-ranked Thiago Seyboth Wild.
Instead of being sad, Medvedev actually felt happy. He even supports Wild to be able to go further and penetrate the world's top 30.
"Every time I finish I'm happy," said world number two Medvedev after losing to Seyboth Wild 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (6/8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, as broadcasted by AFP and reported via Antara.
The defeat was Medvedev's fifth loss in the opening round of Roland Garros in seven appearances.
"I've been eating clay since maybe the third game of the game, and I don't like it. I don't know if people like to eat clay, there's clay in their bags, in their shoes, on socks, white socks, you can throw it in the trash after clay season," he said.
"Maybe some people like it. I don't. I'm happy to be able to finish it," said Medvedev, who arrived in Paris by winning his first clay field title at the Italian Open last week for his fifth trophy in 2023.
Seyboth Wild released 69 winners past the Russian tennis player. Had he not wasted two sets of points in the second set, he could have finished the game sooner than four hours and 15 minutes needed to play the draw.
Seyboth Wild previously only played one game at the Grand Slam at the US Open in 2020. Despite the brief spotlight, he has tried and failed eight times to qualify for the Grand Slam.
Medvedev believes the 23-year-old can use his first Grand Slam win as a trigger for motivation going forward.
"If he continues to play like that, in my opinion, by the end of the year, he's in the top 30," Medvedev said.
"To be honest I hope he will play like this later, because if not, I will be disappointed. I will think, why today? Why not in two days?"
"His life would be better if he played like this every game. He will earn more money, more sponsorships, win big titles. But he has to play like this. Not only once in Philippe Chatrier, but many times in various tournaments around the world throughout the year," Medvedev said.
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