Clay in general has never had his favors. At Roland-Garros, Daniil Medvedev struggled for a long time in the 1st round (eliminated from the start in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020). Before proving to himself that he was able to express himself well on the surface. Last year he lost in the quarter-finals against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
This year, far from the top of the table which monopolizes the eyes, the Russian (seeded n°2) has made his way discreetly (no set lost). Before seeing Marin Cilic stand in his way in the round of 16. The Croatian (33 years old; seeded n°20), powerful and inspired, very comfortable in his movements, very clear in his game plan and very consistent left a permanent threat hanging over Daniil Medvedev won 6-2 , 6-3, 6-2.
Frustrated at not being able to contain the power and variety (with drop shots regularly hitting the mark) of his outdated rival, Medvedev watched the games go by. Without ever managing to evolve eye to eye with the Croatian evolving on a cloud. His serve and his forehand helped knock out the often resigned Medvedev. Like the 3rd set launched with two double faults and a lost service from the start.
Upset by the conditions (humidity, lower rebound) and by the turn of events, Daniil Medvedev got annoyed, deprived of solutions and, helpless, piled up unforced errors (28).
Marin Cilic, quarter-finalist at Roland-Garros in 2017 and 2018 finds, after his first success against Medvedev in four matches, the big 8 in Grand Slam. The first since the US Open 2018. He will be opposed, for a place in the semi-finals at Roland-Garros, to Andrey Rublev. A player he has beaten twice in six confrontations who should offer more resistance than the world No. 2 totally out of the game, passenger of a one-way round of 16.
“It was fantastic. From the first to the last point, I enjoyed this atmosphere. This is one of the best matches of my career. I had fun, ”summarized on the court the one who won the US Open (2014) and lived in the finals at Wimbledon (2017) and the Australian Open (2018). “When I play my best tennis, everything is very good. The last two weeks have been fantastic. In terms of training, I was very consistent. The match against Gilles (Simon, one of his pet peeves) was very good. Against the type like Daniil, I knew that we had to be involved until the end”, he added before prolonging the pleasure on Prime Video: “It was an exceptional evening, a fantastic match. I had fun. It was one of the best matches of matches of my career…”
Les quarts de finals: Djokovic (Ser, 1)-Nadal (Esp 5); Zverev (All, 3)-Alcaraz (Esp, 6); Ruud Nor, 8)-Rune (Dan); Rublev (Rus, 7)-Cilic (n°20).
