Daniil Medvedev will challenge Dominik Koepfer in the first round of the Roland Garros 2024. During the Media Day, thinking about the first round match between Alexander Zverev and Rafael Nadal, Medvedev was very honest and admitted that he was happy not to have to be the one to challenge Rafa in the first round of the much awaited Parisian Slam, which will start next Sunday.
“Playing against him at the Roland Garros is a great event, but we are talking about a difficult draw in reality. Facing him in the third or fourth round, considering his current ranking, could be normal. But challenging a tennis player who has won the tournament in the first round fourteen times is really tough. Yesterday I trained with Rafa and he played quite well, much better than what we saw in Madrid and Rome. Obviously training sessions are different from matches. I’ll watch the match between him and Zverev and I’m not ashamed to say that I’m happy that I’m not the one playing against Nadal in the first round,” he told.
Alexander Zverev & Rafael Nadal, Roland Garros 2022© Ryan Pierse / Staff – Getty Images Sport
Focusing on training against Nadal, the Russian explained: “He played well, it wasn’t a best of five sets match but he went great. He beat me and it will be interesting to see how he plays against Zverev, because Rafa is always Rafa. He absolutely can win.”
Rafael Nadal© Clive Mason / Staff Getty Images Sport
Daniil Medvedev has never shone at Roland Garros, despite the improvements made by the Russian on clay in recent years. Suffice it to say that to win the first match in Paris, Medvedev had to wait until his fifth participation, an edition in which, among other things, he surprisingly reached the quarter-finals, surrendering only to Stefanos Tsitsipas. In 2023, however, there was a painful elimination on his debut against Thiago Seyboth Wild.
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