Daniil Medvedev's clay curse continues: Russian falls in Roland Garros first round

Daniil Medvedev continues to struggle on clay courts after falling in the first round of Roland Garros to Cameron Norrie. The Russian put up a good fight, but was unable to overcome the former world No. 9 and has exited the French Open in the opening round.

The former world No. 1's early exit from Roland Garros marks the fifth time since 2018 that Medvedev has bowed out in the first round of a Grand Slam, with all five of these curious defeats occurring at Roland Garros, where he continues to battle against clay courts.

However, the Russian's clay-court problems seemed to have, at least partially, subsided after he won the Rome Open in 2023 and made second-week appearances in three of his previous four Roland Garros participations.

Since 2021, Medvedev holds a 64-16 record in Grand Slam tournaments, but at Roland Garros, it's a mere 10-5. The Russian has always expressed his discomfort on slow surfaces, though he probably didn't expect to lose in his opening match. In fact, in his career, the Russian has fallen in the first round of a major eight times – six of those at Roland Garros – with the first two coming in his initial appearances at the Australian Open and US Open in 2017, when he was just 21 years old.

As a result, Medvedev will drop 190 points in the ATP Rankings and will not be able to return to the top 10 yet. He currently sits at world No. 11, though with the possibility of falling further depending on the performances of his pursuers, including Ben Shelton, Casper Ruud, and Arthur Fils, among others.