French Open: Medvedev powers past Kecmanovic in show of clay credentials

As Daniil Medvedev, the world No 2, started his French Open this week, there was ample reason for many not to even consider him for a deep run at this tournament as he makes his way back from hernia surgery.

In his absence, he has been the face of all the news about the ban of Russian players at Wimbledon; all of his press conferences and interviews have been dominated by this topic, making it a potential distraction. In his comeback tournament last week in Geneva, Medvedev lost his opening match to Richard Gasquet in straight sets and he seemed far from top form. He has returned on the surface he spent much of last year insulting, even as he reached the French Open quarter-final.

On Saturday, however, Medvedev stepped on to the court and produced one of the best clay-court performances of his career. Across just one hour and 48 minutes on court, he comprehensively outplayed Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the fourth round for the second consecutive year.

Kecmanovic has been one of the standout players of the season. After arriving in Melbourne for the Australian Open ranked 77th, he has since risen to a current career-high ranking of 31st. But Medvedev dominated him from the beginning, playing controlled, attacking tennis, and across the match he could do everything he wanted with the ball. Medvedev finished with 42 winners and 26 unforced errors, and he was not broken throughout.

While Medvedev said he was surprised by how straightforwardly the match and scoreline panned out against such a quality player, he was only partially surprised by how he has played so far in Paris despite his preparation. “Coming here, of course not easy after losing the first round [in Geneva], but I felt on practice that there is