Daniil Medvedev is enjoying a renaissance on clay at
Roland Garros as he took down another tricky opponent in
Reilly Opelka.
The Russian entered the match with newfound confidence after some good performances in the early stages of the event and it propelled him to a 6-4 6-2 6-4. victory. Medvedev spoke ahead of the event about how the conditions in Paris suit him and his game better than most other clay courts. Today it was certainly on display.
After going down 1-3 early Medvedev went on a rampage winning 4 games in a row to take a 5-3 lead. He closed out the set with 6-4 against an erratic Opelka who simply tried to outhit Medvedev and failed. Opelka had 8 unforced errors more than Medvedev.
The 2nd set was a similar one but Medvedev was even more convincing in this one as he upped his aggression in this set as well. He committed more errors but also hit more winners and it was enough for a 6-2 win. The 3rd set featured better play overall by both but once again Medvedev was better.
He kept his first serve winning percentage fairly high through the match and Opelka simply could not find a way to break Medvedev's serve. Opelka totalled only 3 break points in the match using one (in the 1st set). Medvedev closed out the match with 6-4.