PARIS — Second-seeded Daniil Medvedev was stunned in the first round of the French Open on Tuesday, losing in five sets to Thiago Seyboth Wild, a 23-year-old from Brazil who is ranked just 172nd and was playing only his second match in the main draw of any Grand Slam tournament.
Seyboth Wild needed to go through qualifying rounds at Roland Garros just to earn a spot in the men’s bracket but looked very much like he belonged on Court Philippe-Chatrier, hitting big forehands and keeping his nerve down the stretch to win 7-6 (5), 6-7 (8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Employing a high-risk, high-reward style, Seyboth Wild compiled a 69-45 edge in total winners, including 47-15 on the forehand side.
Medvedev, the US Open champion two years ago, was never known for his prowess on red clay — he began his French Open career with a 0-4 record. But he’s been showing signs of improvement, reaching the quarterfinals in Paris in 2021 and the fourth round last year, and claiming a title on the surface in Rome this month.
He just could never quite get the upper hand against Seyboth Wild during a match that lasted 4 hours, 15 minutes.
Medvedev, who was treated by a trainer for a nosebleed in the third set, didn’t help himself by double-faulting a career-high 15 times.
This already had been a breakthrough trip to Paris for Seyboth Wild: He had tried eight previous times to qualify for a major tournament and failed to do so eight times, winning a total of just one match in all of those appearances.
Earlier Tuesday, fourth seed Casper Ruud coasted into the French Open second round with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Swedish qualifier Elias Ymer on Tuesday to kick off his bid for a second straight final at Roland Garros.
Ymer was no match for the baseline power of Ruud, the fourth-ranked player in the world. Ruud lost in the 2022 final to Rafael Nadal, an absentee this year.
“Last year was one of the best tournaments of my life,” Ruud said. “You want to defend what you did last year. Last year was incredible for me and I will try to do it again wherever I play.”
Danish sixth seed Holger Rune overcame a mid-match wobble to see off French Open debutant Christopher Eubanks 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2 in the opening round.
Rune reached the quarterfinals last year and the 20-year-old came into the tournament with big expectations on his shoulders after his run to the Munich title and runner-up finishes in Monte Carlo and Rome.
Information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.
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Daniil Medvedev, French Open No. 2 seed, ousted in 1st round
