Roland Garros welcomes Daniil Medvedev with open arms as Russian star breezes into second round of French Open – and world No 2 insists ATP’s reasoning to strip Wimbledon of ranking points is ‘very logical’
- Daniil Medvedev cruised through his first round match at the French Open
- The world No 2 beat Facundo Bagnis in straight sets in the men’s singles
- After, he was told: ‘We’re delighted to have you here, the French Open loves you’
- Yet the Russian was guarded about Wimbledon’s decision to ban Russians and Belarusians and the ATP’s subsequent action
In stark contrast to Wimbledon, Roland Garros rolled out the Tricolour carpet for Russian No 1 Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday.
The world No 2 showed British fans what they will be missing as he cruised through the first round 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, albeit against an opponent in Facundo Bagnis who was clearly carrying an injury.
Medvedev has lived in France or Monaco since he was 18 and in the on-court interview after the match he was told: ‘We’re delighted to have you here, the French Open loves you.’ A dig at Wimbledon perhaps?
Roland Garros rolled out the Tricolour carpet for Russian No 1 Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday
The world No 2 showed British fans what they will be missing as he cruised into round two
Watch every match from Roland-Garros live and exclusive on discovery+ and Eurosport
After opening-round losses in his first four visits to Roland Garros, Medvedev made the quarter-finals last year. He will hope to go at least one better this time, as he has landed in the substantially easier bottom half of the draw.
On the question of the ATP’s decision to strip Wimbledon of ranking points in response to the banning of Medvedev and his compatriots, the Russian was guarded.
‘It’s not easy to comment, but when I read why the ATP made this decision, I found it very logical what they say at least. This is what I didn’t find in Wimbledon’s explanations,’ he said.
‘I’m not saying which decision is right, but at least so far in explaining their decisions, I found ATP more logical.’
Medvedev, the US Open champion, has lived in France or Monaco since he was 18
His countryman Andrey Rublev was more forthright. ‘Wimbledon, they break agreement between the ATP,’ he said. ‘When you have a deal, you cannot break it. And they did it.
‘I think (the ranking points decision) is more to show the tournaments they cannot do whatever they want. Tennis needs tournaments to work together, and tournaments need players to work together.
‘When we have a toxic relationship like now, only bad things can happen.’
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