His victory and title in Rome last week will have remotivated him. While he relished in criticizing clay, Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev suddenly became the leader of the underdogs of the Paris tournament of Roland-Garros, along with Holger Rune, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev.

In the absence of Rafael Nadal, the favorites are Carlos Alcaraz (world No. 1) and Novak Djokovic (3rd), but the draw wanted the two to face each other in the semifinals - if they succeed - leaving a place to take in the final at the bottom of the table.

  • The Medvedev case

"It's the first time I've come here having won a game the week before. It's wonderful. I'm a little less stressed about playing on clay," said the 27-year-old Russian, admitting to having "more expectations than usual". "So far everything is fine, I have a lot of confidence, I will try to transfer this into the tournament," he added.

His chances are all the more important this year as as world No. 2, he was certain not to be able to cross the road of No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz before the final, moreover, fate has placed Novak Djokovic on the road of the Spaniard and not his. Not to mention that the tournament takes place without the master of the place Rafael Nadal, titled 14 times.

Daniil Medvedev had to wait until his fifth participation, in 2021, to win his first match in the Major on clay, a surface he said he hated just a few days ago. In 2021, he was beaten in the quarterfinals by eventual finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas, and last year he left the tournament in the knockout rounds, eliminated by Marin Cilic.

  • Nordic rivals

"I want to win a Grand Slam tournament this year. I have already said it and I stand by it": the Dane Holger Rune, 6th in the world at 20 years old, does not hide his ambitions. A young player with a slightly provocative character, he won the Masters 1000 in Paris last year by beating Novak Djokovic in the final, then again a finalist this year in Monte-Carlo (beaten by Andrey Rublev) and Rome (beaten by Daniil Medvedev).

"Holger has made phenomenal progress. He is a young man who died of hunger and has an ability to be a sponge (to progress, Editor's note). His two axes of progression are emotional management and the identity of the game, "summarizes for AFP his coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

The Norwegian Casper Ruud (4th at 24 years old) already has the experience of two Grand Slam finals including last year in Paris, where he beat Holger Rune in the quarters before being corrected in the final by King Rafael Nadal (6-3, 6-3, 6-0).

But this season, his results are lagging behind: Casper Ruud has not lined up two consecutive victories in nine of the eleven tournaments played in 2023. He won the ATP 250 in Estoril (clay) and lost in the semis in Rome, beaten by Holger Rune.

  • Tsitsipas in ambush

Stefanos Tsitsipas (5th) has lost two Grand Slam finals at Roland Garros in 2021 and in Australia this year, both times against Novak Djokovic.

In Paris, he led two sets to zero before bowing. And this year, the Greek has chained victories on his favorite surface even if he did not win a title: he reached the quarters in Monte-Carlo, the final in Barcelona, the quarters in Madrid and the semis in Rome. Only downside, he lost every time he faced a high-caliber opponent.

"I have to get back into the state of mind I was when I reached the final here. I had two very good weeks and I remember how I did things, what worked well," he said.

  • Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner

Andrey Rublev (7th at 25 years old) has already reached the quarterfinals several times at Roland-Garros and has failed to reach the last four in the last two Majors (US Open 2022 and Australia 2023). In April, he won the biggest tournament of his career, the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000, beating Holger Rune (then 9th) in the final.

Jannik Sinner (8th at 21 years old) has already shown the extent of his talent in matches, including two anthology fights last year against Carlos Alcaraz (victory in the eighth at Wimbledon and defeat in the quarters at the US Open). He still has to put his name on the list of winners of a big tournament.

With AFP

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