Daniil Medvedev will enter the Roland Garros with confidence on his back after Italian Open success. The Russian bested Holger Rune in the final by 7-5, 7-5 in the summit clash. This was Medvedev’s first clay title and his sixth ATP 1000 Masters.
In fact, back in 2021, Medvedev had claimed he hated playing on clay as his game is not suited to the surface. Furthermore, he had failed to win a single game in the last three editions of the Italian Open.
However, the 27-year-old turned the tables in Rome as he clinched six consecutive matches, including wins against Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev.
Speaking on his expectations, Medvedev said, “Normally it would be zero, but I was feeling so good that if you asked maybe it would have been 2%.”
Medvedev revealed he is feeling confident and this win will surely give him a shot in the arm for Roland Garros.
“I’m feeling great. It’s the best week on clay in my life. It’s always great to come into a Grand Slam with a lot of confidence,” said Medvedev.
“But you always have strong opponents there, it’s out of five sets. Need to be 100%. That’s what I’m gonna try to do. I still have not that big expectations in a way, but I know that I can do better than I thought so, so that’s good.”
Medvedev tipped his Italian Open triumph as the best win of his career behind the US Open 2021 title.
“In a way, [this is my] No. 1 [success], just because it’s the first one on clay and it’s unbelievable. I would never have thought I would be able to make this,” claimed Medvedev.
The 2021 US Open champion continued, “Then I have to be honest, a Grand Slam is always bigger. US Open is always No. 1 there. This one is special because I didn’t think it was going to be able to happen, [that I was] going to be able to make it.”
“I still kind of don’t believe…Not that I won it, but I played so well this week. I don’t believe it. The way I played, I’m really happy. Happy to have this trophy back home in some time.”
The French Open will begin on May 28 in Paris.
