Daniil Medvedev was the subject of the biggest upset at the French Open so far. The second seed came into the tournament fresh off the back of winning his maiden clay title at the Italian Open. But he fell at the first hurdle, crashing out to world No 172 Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-6(5) 6-7(6) 2-6 6-3 6-4 after suffering a nosebleed and getting booed by the crowd. It marked the Brazilian’s first-ever match win in the main draw of a Grand Slam.
Medvedev was coming into the French Open as one of the favourites for arguably the first time in his career. After spending years sharing his dislike for the clay, he won the recent Rome Masters and was finally feeling confident on the dirt ahead of the second Major of the year.
The world No 2 got off to a strong start against Seyboth Wild, breaking in the opening game. But the Brazilian stormed back to win the next three games in a row and continued to threaten the Medvedev serve with more break points. The opening set then went to a tiebreak, where the 23-year-old took it 7-6(5) after 66 minutes.
Neither man was able to get a break in the second set which also went to a breaker, with Seyboth Wild racing to a 6-4 lead. But the Brazilian blew two set points as Medvedev won four in a row to win the second set 7-6(6) and draw level.
With the momentum now on his side, the second seed broke Seyboth Wild in the opening game but the 23-year-old refused to go away, breaking back for 2-2. Medvedev responded by winning the next four games in a row there was some drama when the 27-year-old was leading at 5-2.
The world No 2 needed a brief medical time out when he got a nosebleed but was able to close out the third set. The cat-and-mouse game continued in set number four, where Medvedev hit three double faults in his opening service game to get broken.
He was able to break back a few games later but was then booed by the crowd for questioning a ball mark on the clay and ended up getting broken again. Seyboth Wild took the fourth set 6-3 to force a fifth set and continued to trouble the No 2 seed, breaking in the opening game after Medvedev led 40-0.
The final set turned into a rollercoaster as it was the Brazilian’s turn to get broken after leading 40-15. And it was the first of four successive breaks, with Seyboth Wild regaining his lead over the 27-year-old as he ended the run by holding for 5-3.
The 23-year-old then held his nerve to serve out the biggest win of his career in four hours and 15 minutes. It was Seyboth Wild’s first tour-level match victory since February 2022 and his first-ever main draw win at a Major.
With Medvedev’s defeat, world No 4 Casper Ruud is the highest-ranked player left in the bottom half of the draw, followed by world No 6 Holger Rune. Seyboth Wild will now face either Quentin Halys or Guido Pella in the second round.
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