French Open 2022, Round of 16, Monday, 30.05.2022
The world number 2 and the red clay – are we witnessing a new love story at the French Open 2022? Daniil Medvedev has apparently overcome both crises and injuries.
As if his year 2022 had gone as planned, he is serving excellently in Paris. But beware: even if he is favoured in the round of 16, his opponent is also in top form. Read my Clic Medvedev tip to find out why I still share the bookmakers’ opinion.
As a tennis fan, you have known for a long time: As strong as Daniil Medvedev is on hard court or mostly on green grass, the weaker his performances are on clay. He and the red court have simply not become friends yet.
After several poor performances in the French capital, he at least managed to get up for a respectable tournament in 2021. He was stopped in the quarter-finals, losing in three sets to Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The fact that the 26-year-old has now made it to the last 16 so easily is also surprising because he has been anything but convincing in recent months. After losing the final of the Australian Open, he fell into a small crisis.
Several tournaments were cancelled and his health did not play along as well. Medvedev lost a few matches against smaller opponents, which he was no longer used to. Example: The 1st round in Geneva a fortnight ago, where he was eliminated by Richard Gasquet.
All the more surprising is what he is currently achieving in Paris. Started his French Open with a quick 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 against Facundo Bagnis. Laslo Djere was then supposed to be a tougher opponent, but still had no chance at 3-6, 4-6, 3-6.
The Russian also prevailed against Miomir Kecmanovic, never threatened 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. He did not concede a single break in the 3rd round, the Serb only had the opportunity twice.
78% of points won on the first serve, Medvedev is also on course here. He knows that it will be a bit more difficult against Marin Cilic. Although he leads 3:0 in the direct duel, he had to fight hard each time.
In Wimbledon 2021, the spectators saw a thriller over five sets, in the other two matches there was a tiebreak in each case.
The veteran has been competing here in Paris for 15 years and has experienced all the sunny and dark sides of the tournament. In 2017 and 2018, he experienced his best results with the quarter-finals.
In recent weeks, Cilic has already shown that he is far from being old news. He was able to annoy top stars like Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev for a long time and even beat Cameron Norrie.
In the French capital, he has shown himself to be impeccable so far. He got off to a great start with a 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 win over Attila Balazs, followed by a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 win over Marton Fucsovics.
After this strong comeback, he faced Gilles Simon and obviously wanted to save his strength for the round of 16. He swept past the Frenchman 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 and thus also sent a small challenge to Daniil Medvedev.
My Cilic Medvedev tip
They have both delivered top results so far, but who is ahead in the direct duel? Daniil Medvedev has been on his best behaviour so far, not dropping a single set.
His opponents were without a chance at times, in the last few weeks the Croatian was also strong against the world elite. My tendency may still go to Medvedev, but my overall tip is:
Medvedev wins with over 29.5 games!
