Tennis boss reveals if Medvedev will play French Open
Daniil Medvedev is set to play at the French Open after recovering in time from surgery, Russian Tennis Federation president Shamil Tarpischev has said.
Medvedev underwent an operation at the beginning of April after playing with “a small hernia,” which the Russian star said would rule him out of action for up to two months.
But the 26-year-old has already returned to training, posting footage of himself hitting on a hard court at the end of last month, followed by clay court practice earlier this week.
Organizers of the Gonet Geneva Open, a red dirt tournament which runs from May 14 to 21 in the Swiss city, confirmed on Friday that the world number two has also been handed a wild card to feature at the event.
That has added to the likelihood of Medvedev lining up in Paris shortly afterwards – something which Russian tennis official Tarpischev confirmed.
“Daniil will play at Roland-Garros, he’s preparing,” said Tarpischev in brief comments to R-Sport.
Russian stars have been cleared to compete under neutral at this year’s Grand Slam in France, in contrast to organizers of their counterparts at Wimbledon.
The grass court showpiece in London has ruled that no Russian or Belarusian players can feature this year due to the conflict in Ukraine – a decision which runs counter to the policy of the ATP and WTA tours.
The ruling has led to widespread condemnation in tennis, including from the likes of world number one Novak Djokovic.
While Medvedev is set to appear at Roland-Garros, he will not be among the favorites in the men’s draw.
Clay is notoriously Medvedev’s least comfortable surface, something he has made no secret of in recent years.
He did, however, manage a career-best run to the quarterfinals at Roland-Garros last year before being beaten by eventual runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.
Medvedev has enjoyed considerably more success on hard courts, winning the US Open title last season after previously appearing in the final in 2019.
Medvedev, who briefly ascended to the world number one spot earlier this year, has also made runs to the Australian Open final on two occasions, including in January of this year.
Serbian legend Djokovic will be aiming to defend his title in Paris, although 13-time champion Rafael Nadal is also expected to be a threat after a resurgent 2022 which has so far included Grand Slam success in Australia at the expense of Medvedev.
