Medvedev stunned by qualifier in first round
Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild, the 172nd ranked player in the world, pulled off a stunning upset of World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev in the first round of the French Open on Tuesday in Paris.
Seyboth Wild rallied from a set down to oust Medvedev in 4 hours, 15 minutes — 7-5 (5), 6-8 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
“It was pretty tough. I started cramping in the second set. I did my best and tried to play my best tennis and it worked,” Seyboth Wild said. “I am really happy with the way I played.”
Medvedev blasted 14 aces but suffered 15 double faults among 48 unforced errors. He had 45 winners against 69 for Seyboth Wild, who had 77 unforced errors of his own.
“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,” Seyboth Wild said.
Wild was playing in just the second Grand Slam main draw of his career.
“I’ve always dreamed about playing on this court, playing this kind of players,” Seyboth Wild said in his on-court interview. “I mean, in my best dreams of even beating them. So, it’s a dream come true.”
Seyboth Wild will next face Guido Pella of Argentina or Quentin Halys of France in the second round.
However, another match lasted even longer than the Seyboth Wild-medvedev affair, with another qualifier advancing. Italian Andrea Vavassori took down No. 31 Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia 5-7, 2-6, 7-6 (8), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (9) in 5 hours, 10 minutes.
No. 27 Yoshihito Nishioka also rallied from two sets down to record a 1-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory over J.J. Wolf.
Fourth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway breezed past Swedish qualifier Elias Ymer 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. No. 22 Alexander Zverev of Germany won in straight sets but needed two hours and 43 minutes to get past South African Lloyd Harris 7-6 (6), 7-6 (0), 6-1.