The Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild, who at 23 years old was playing his second Grand Slam match, rushed through all the sets to devour the Russian Daniil Medvedev, number 2 in the world and recent winner in Rome of his first tournament on clay, who visibly tensed He ended up losing 7-6(5), 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3 and 6-4 in 4 hours and a quarter.
Medvedev, former number 1 in the world and winner of a Grand Slam in the United States, returned to his old ways in a tournament where it took him five editions to win his first match and after having reached the quarterfinals in 2021 and the eighths last year, he fell from again in the first round.
This time he did it against an almost unknown on the circuit, 23 years old, 172 in the ranking, who entered the final draw through the qualifying phase, a player who promised very high at 19 years old but whose wings were clipped by injuries . Medvedev had held out hopes of favoritism at Roland Garros after his recent triumph in Rome, but Seyboth Wild grounded him.
The author of the greatest feat so far in the tournament flirted with entering the top 100 when he won the Santiago de Chile tournament in 2019, but physical problems sank him to beyond 400. In 2020 he played in the US Open his first match at a Grand Slam, but has since disappeared from the top of the rankings.
At the end of last year, he was recovering his good game in second-tier tournaments, a streak that he has managed to maintain this season, in which he finally managed to overcome the previous Grand Slam. His improvement was evident against a Medvedev who continues to drag a nightmare at Roland Garros, while the public's animosity, which he feeds.
Medvedev gave up the first set in the tiebreaker game and was about to let the second get away, in which the Brazilian had two balls to score it. He seemed on track when he scored the third, but Seyboth Wild recovered, as the tension increased in the Russian's field, which faded, while the young Brazilian chained dream points.
The central court in Paris vibrated with his game and sank a little more to a Medvedev who fell with a crash from the second step of the list of favorites. Seyboth Wild will face the winner of the duel between the French Quentin Halys and the Argentine Guido Pella for a place in the third round.
