(Tennis news) In the first round of the Grand Slam, the 23-year-old Thiago Seyboth Wild, made his Roland Garros debut and defeated the second-seeded Russian, Daniil Medvedev in 5 sets as 7-6(5) 6-7(6) 2-6 6-3 6-4. Following his victory over world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev at the French Open, Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild proclaimed it to be the happiest day of his life.
The World No. 172 Thiago Seyboth racked up 69 wins, bounced back from blowing two set points in the second set tie-break, and raised his intensity in the match’s closing moments to secure his first main-draw major victory. Seyboth Wild, who has two victories on the ATP Challenger Tour this year, was taking part in his maiden match at the tour level. When he takes on either Frenchman Quentin Halys or Italian Guido Pella in the second round, he’ll try to build on his incredible victory over Medvedev.
“I have watched Daniil play for my entire junior career, up until today. Playing on this court against this kind of player and beating him is a dream come true,” Seyboth Wild said. “Walking on court I just wanted to get to the net as much as possible and use my forehand against his and it worked pretty well.”
“It was pretty tough. I started cramping in the second set. I did my best and tried to play my best tennis and it worked,” Seyboth Wild said. “I am really happy with the way I played.”
Medvedev won his first clay-court championship in Rome before arriving in Paris, and he would have hoped for a smooth start to his clay-court major title defence. Thoughts for Seyboth Wild were different.
From the very first ball, the Brazilian had Medvedev covered as his baseline power carried him past. The 23-year-old played courageous tennis the entire match, took 69% of the net points (38/55) and maintained composure in the tense fourth set, winning the match on serve with a devastating forehand winner.Seyboth Wild raised his arms in celebration of his amazing triumph, taking in the cheers of the packed audience. Seyboth Wild raised his arms in celebration of his amazing triumph, taking in the cheers of the packed audience.
Medvedev, who has a season record of 39-6, was vying for his second major victory. The 2021 US Open winner finished 2023 with a Tour-high five victories, including victories at the Miami and Rome ATP Masters 1000 tournaments. The 27-year-old is now leading the Pepperstone ATP Live Race to Turin, but Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Stefanos Tsitsipas can catch up to him in Paris.
Statistics from the match
- Since No. 213 Mariano Zabaleta defeated No. 2 Petr Korda in 1998, Seyboth Wild, ranked lowest-ranked player to defeat a second seed in Roland Garros’ opening round, was No. 172 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
- No. 203 In the opening round of Wimbledon in 2003, World No. 2 and top seed Lleyton Hewitt was defeated by Ivo Karlovic.
- Since 2000, when No. 25-ranked Mark Philippoussis defeated second seed Pete Sampras at Roland Garros, Seyboth Wild is the only player to have defeated a second seed in the opening round.
- At the 2002 Australian Open, Julien Boutter upset Gustavo Kuerten to become the latest second seed to lose in the first round of a Grand Slam competition.
Alexander Zverev, a two-time semi-finalist, defeated South African Lloyd Harris with scores of 7-6(6), 7-6(0), and 6-1. In the first two sets, Zverev was unable to perform at his peak because Harris’ length forced him to make mistakes. Nevertheless, the 19-time tour-level champion resisted giving in, saving two set points in the second set before gaining greater composure in the third set to secure victory after two hours and forty minutes. The Slovakian defeated French wild card Hugo Gaston 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-4 to advance to the second round, where the 26-year-old, who is 17-14 on the year, will play Alex Molcan.
Also read: Stefanos Tsitsipas faces Carballes Baena in the 2nd round of the French Open
