French Open 2022, 3rd round, Saturday, 28/05/2022
Can he really make an impact in the battle for the title at the French Open 2022? The tennis world knows that Daniil Medvedev is only partially comfortable on clay and his results in Paris have been anything but glamorous.
So far, the world No. 2 has performed very confidently, but will a slump follow soon? In my Kecmanovic Medvedev tip, I reveal why I don’t expect the Serb to trip him up
Has Rafael Nadal pulled his tooth for the entire 2022? Daniil Medvedev was already leading 2-0 at the Australian Open, but was eventually beaten by the old master.
After that, he did not really get into the rhythm. Sometimes he lost to strong opponents like Nadal or Hubert Hurkacz, then he lost to clear outsiders, like at the preparatory tournament in Geneva.
In the first round, he lost outright to Richard Gasquets, a performance Medvedev is not used to. The 26-year-old simply doesn’t have it in him to play on red clay, a statement he has often made himself.
However, Medvedev has so far performed in Roland Garros as if the year 2022 had never existed in all its inconsistency. He got off to an easy 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 start against Facundo Bagnis, although only just over 50% of his first serve was successful.
Many saw the weaknesses as too great for the Russian to hold against Laslo Djere, but Medvedev proved everyone wrong. He played his way into the 3rd round with 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.
This time 81% of his first serve went over the net, what an improvement. If he now minimises the eleven double faults from the two matches, he can continue to improve his form on clay.
He will meet Miomir Kecmanovic, the world number 31, for the very first time. The 22-year-old Serb reached the 3rd round in Paris for the first time. He hasn’t played much worse in Paris so far, dropping one set.
Not in Round 1, where he won 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 against Tomas Martin Etcheverry. He finally made a comeback against Alexander Bublik, more specifically a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-1.
With every stroke Kecmanovic got better, although his game also revealed weaknesses. Of the eleven break chances he allowed, he ended up conceding nine, which will be too many against Medvedev.
On the other hand, he did not use his own breaks so consistently. He had a whopping 50 opportunities, but managed to convert 18 of them. Against Bublik, the Serb also benefited from the fact that he hit twelve double faults.
Schwartzman, Nadal, van de Zandschulp, Djokovic, Alcaraz and Fritz, in the last few tournaments Kecmanovic only failed when his opponents were really strong and came from the Medvedev category.
My Kecmanovic Medvedev tip
Daniil Medvedev is serving far better in Paris so far than many had expected. His straightforward win over Laslo Djere was particularly strong. With Miomir Kecmanovic, he now gets an opponent who often fails due to his own nerves.
As I was quite impressed by Medvedev’s aplomb, I’m betting for Saturday:
Medvedev beats Kecmanovic!
