It’s the place Marat Safin dropped his shorts to have a good time a successful level and the place Mikhail Youzhny smashed his racquet 9 occasions and as soon as scribbled ‘SORRI’ within the Paris clay.
The French Open has a proud historical past of embracing unorthodox Russians and now Daniil Medvedev hopes to lengthen the legacy.
“I really feel joyful about life. I really feel joyful about tennis,” said the 25-year-old world number two on Friday.
“Doesn’t matter if I lose first round or if I lose final. It’s about feeling on the court, and now I have it good.”
For a participant who has but to win a match at Roland Garros in 4 visits, it’s a surprisingly upbeat message.
But Medvedev is much from predictable.
The winner of the celebrated ATP Finals in London final 12 months, he’s additionally a two-time runner-up on the majors.
In March this 12 months, he grew to become the primary man since 2005 not referred to as Djokovic, Nadal, Federer or Murray to occupy the world quantity two rating.
Like two-time main winner and former world primary Safin, he isn’t afraid to play the pantomime villain.
Safin was docked some extent at Roland Garros in 2004 for dropping his shorts to have a good time a successful level on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Fifteen years later, the New York Post boldly claimed that ‘Daniil Medvedev is more New York than most New Yorkers’ after his ballsy response to being jeered by 14,000 spectators for petulantly snapping at a ballboy.
“Thank you all, guys, as a result of your power tonight gave me the win. If you weren’t right here, guys, I’d in all probability lose the match.
“So I need all of you to know, if you sleep tonight, I received as a result of of you.”
Medvedev later apologised, telling reporters: “I actually have no idea why the demons go out when I play tennis.”
‘Genius’ at work?
At final 12 months’s delayed Roland Garros, Medvedev was penalised some extent for smashing his racquet in opposition to Marton Fucsovics.
It additionally value him the second set earlier than one other limp exit in Paris.
His coach Gilles Cervara says working with the lanky Russian is “like teaching a genius”.
Medvedev’s antics in Paris last year didn’t quite match Youzhny’s epic meltdown in 2013 when he destroyed a racquet with nine lusty blows against the courtside furniture.
This year, the tennis gods have looked kindly on Medvedev whose second seeding has put him in the opposite side of the draw to Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and their combined 58 Slam titles.
French Open organisers, unlike their counterparts at Wimbledon, based seedings on the ATP rankings.
Therefore Medvedev, without a clay court title, got the second seeding nod over Nadal whose career haul of 88 titles features 62 on clay with 13 at Roland Garros.
“I don’t know actually how I’m going to be seeded in Wimbledon because even if I like grass I didn’t do so amazing on grass courts last few years,” stated Medvedev on Friday.
“Same about clay. If they might have some particular guidelines, for positive I’d be seeded much less greater, but when we take the rankings, I’m No. 2 so I’ve to be seeded No. 2.”
Safin never made it past the semi-finals in Paris while Youzhny was a quarter-finalist.
Yevgeny Kafelnikov was the last Russian to win the men’s title back in 1996.
So is this the year Medvedev makes the breakthrough even if he has won just one match on clay this year?
“I don’t know if maybe the balls change or it’s the conditions, because last year we had these Wilson balls which are supposed to suit me, but it was like 5 degrees when I played my match,” he recalled Friday.
“So far in follow I’ve been taking part in wonderful. I didn’t really feel that it was clay. I used to be taking part in like on laborious courts.
“Most vital is to play good, have a participant that additionally doesn’t like clay!”
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