"If I say it, it sounds like excuses": Daniil Medvedev hides real reason behind clay court failure after Walton loss
ATPTuesday, 26 May 2026 at 17:45
Daniil Medvedev is out of the French Open losing out to Adam Walton in five sets 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 in favour of the Aussie as the sixth seed became of the biggest names to go tumbling head first out of the tournament.
But Medvedev refused to blame the heat for his issues and said that he didn't play his best and that he doesn't think it should play any factor in his defeat to Walton early at the French Open.
"I didn’t play my best tennis. He played well at some moments, and not that good at others. I managed to take advantage when he wasn’t playing that well. And that’s it," he said in his press conference. "I didn’t manage to raise my level enough to win the whole match, and that’s why I lost.
"I felt OK with the heat. It’s not easy for anyone to play in this heat, but I felt OK with it. Generally, I felt like we were fresh. In the fifth set, we were running and stuff like this, nobody was cramping or anything. So I don’t think the heat played any role, except that it’s a bit different to play in the heat on clay. But that’s normal."
He later touched upon the conditions again and said that he knows why he doesn't play well on the courts of Paris but doesn't want to use it as an excuse. "I don’t want to find excuses. I know why I don’t always play my best at Roland Garros, but if I say it, it sounds like excuses, so I’ll keep it to myself."
Defining why he fails at Roland Garros
But also given he had great form in the lead-up to the tournament, he also said that nothing can be read into it and he has no defining answer as to why it doesn't translate and used a modicum of factors to describe it.
"Every tournament has different courts, different balls, different everything. I can be different every day. I don’t like to stand up early, and I’m usually less performant when I wake up at 6:50 in the morning. I like to sleep in. So this is just part of small things. In tennis you need to adapt, and sometimes I’m not good enough to adapt, and sometimes I am. That’s basically all I can tell you.
"My tennis depends on a couple of things that I cannot control. If the ball doesn’t go, I don’t have the power to make it go. It doesn’t matter. If the ball doesn’t go, he can hit it full power. If the ball goes, he makes adjustments and doesn’t go full power. I go full power, and if the ball doesn’t go, it doesn’t go."
Daniil Medvedev loses again in Roland Garros.
Medvedev won't skip Roland Garros
He was asked if it is perhaps factors such as pressure, emotion and ambition management at Roland Garros so the tempering of expectation relative to how his game goes. "It is possible. At the same time, I feel like I was—and I still am—usually good in Grand Slams. Yes, I can lose, maybe now in the first round, but I don’t think I’ve lost the ability to perform in Grand Slams. It can come back at any moment, like at Wimbledon for example.
"But in general, if we compare all four Grand Slams to five years ago, the game is different at these tournaments, and I don’t think it suits me that well. It’s very tough for me to get the rhythm going, and the first round is the toughest one. Once I get through it, maybe I can do better."
But while that is the case Medvedev doesn't ever want to skip the tournament and said he will continue to play in Paris going forward. "No, no, no. Unless I’m injured, of course. Even once I had a hernia injury and I considered skipping it to prepare for Wimbledon, but no, I want to play Grand Slams.
"I know I’m in good shape and I can play well at Roland Garros too. It’s just tougher for me, especially in the first rounds. But I will always come here. Maybe I should consider playing a tournament before it, which I usually don’t do before Grand Slams. But when it doesn’t work, why not? That’s the only thing I might consider next year."
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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