Daniil Medvedev hits back at crowd amid stunning French Open upset
The World No.2 has taken aim at the crowd after the staggering result.
World No.2 Daniil Medvedev has been left shattered after losing his opening round clash at the French Open after so much promise leading into Paris. Qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild has produced the upset of Roland Garros so far having knocked off Medvedev 7-6, 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a more than four hour encounter that saw the Russian argue with the crowd.
Medvedev entered his least favoured surface having won the Italian Open and reaching the Monte Carlo Open quarter-finals. This saw him leap Novak Djokovic to enter as World No.2.
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But the Russian's preparation went out the window in the first set when he fell in a tiebreaker to the Brazilian World No.172. Wild missed out on converting two set points in the second set, before Medvedev managed to level the match having won the tiebreak.
This didn't deter the Brazilians game plan of hitting big winners off his forehand side and approaching the net. Wild then took the third as Medvedev appeared to lose his way.
And the wheels came off at the start of the fourth set when the Russian's performance dipped and he entered into a battle with the crowd. At a pivotal moment at 3-2 down and 40-30, Medvedev thought Wild's shot was out and called for the chair umpire to look at the mark.
However, the chair umpire deemed the ball good. The French crowd started to ramp up their noise and Medvedev did what he does best.
The Russian provoked the local crowd and told them to be quiet as he spoke to the chair umpire. This only encouraged them to become even louder. Medvedev never recovered and Wild was able to go on and claim the set.
And in stunning scenes, Wild held his nerve in the fifth and final set of a marathon four hour and 15 minute encounter to win his first tour-level match in 2023. The tennis world was swift to react to Medvedev's stunning loss and the drama that unfolded with the crowd.
Medvedev's defeat marks the first time since 1998 that a player ranked as low as Wild has defeated the second seed in the first round of Roland Garros.
On a court where a very famous Brazilian rocked around 20 years ago, the talented qualifier Thiago Wild, #172, gets the biggest win of his career, beating #2 and recently Rome champ Daniil Medvedev 7-6(5), 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the 2nd round at #RolandGarros.
4h15 pic.twitter.com/Chsv1r8kQQ— José Morgado (@josemorgado) May 30, 2023
Seyboth Wild had NEVER won a match at a major or any best-of-five set match.
Now he has beaten the World #2 and Rome champion Danill Medvedev.
Amazing. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/DpTSEAS2pE— Olly 🎾🇬🇧 (@Olly_Tennis_) May 30, 2023
What just happened!!!!!
Things just got a little easier for Djokovic 😭— Aditya Mantry (@aditya_mantry) May 30, 2023
(In all seriousness, it had 6-2 6-2 written all over it, then Medvedev's level inexplicably dipped from the start of the fourth)
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) May 30, 2023
sky is blue
— dara (@xergvv) May 30, 2023
im speechless.
what a match what a performance...
its going to be very hard to take down Seyboth wild— Diogo (@dioooogooo) May 30, 2023
It's surreal!!
— PRESIDENTPETEROBI (@drUmorenUC) May 30, 2023
Daniil Medvedev hits out at crowd
After the match, Medvedev addressed his reaction to the crowd when he was speaking to the chair umpire. And the Russian was calm when discussing the incident.
"The crowd was fine...I just told them to shut up. I was discussing with another person, not with them. So they should shut up at this moment," Medvedev said.
On the other side of the net, Wild was elated to have pulled off his first win at a grand slam. Wild is the first player to beat a second seed in the first round of any grand slam since 2000.
"I have watched Daniil play for my entire junior career, up until today. Playing on this court against this kind of player and beating him is a dream come true," Wild said after the historic victory. "Walking on court I just wanted to get to the net as much as possible and use my forehand against his and it worked pretty well."
Medvedev's loss opens up his side of the draw with both Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz pitted on the other side. Wild will now play Guido Pella in the second round.
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