At his fifth attempt, Daniil Medvedev has finally won a match at Roland Garros.
The second-seeded Russian, who lost in the first round on each of his four previous appearances on the Parisian red clay, claimed a maiden win at the Grand Slam event by defeating Alexander Bublik 6-3, 6-3, 7-5.
Medvedev has often struggled on the slow surface — he has a 12-20 record on clay — and much prefers hard courts. He holds a 148-59 record on hard and has won all his 10 titles on the fast surface.
During his on-court interview, Medvedev told the crowd he feels the balls used in Paris suit his game really well.
“Since I arrived here I’m feeling really well, I can almost play as if on hard courts,” he said. “Hopefully I can achieve something big.”
A two-time Grand slam runner-up, Medvedev is bidding to become the third Russian man to win a major after Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin.
Earlier, Italian rising star Jannik Sinner saved a match point in his opening match at the French Open before rallying past Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-1, 4-6, 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-4.
