By Alberto Amalfi | Thursday, May 26, 2022
Daniil Medvedev hasn't surrendered a set reaching the Roland Garros third round.
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The world No. 2 has spent his time off court pushing buttons.
The US Open champion swept Serbian Laslo Djere 6-3,6-4, 6-3 to advance to the third round for the second year in a row.
Afterward, Medvedev shared how he immerses himself fully into the French Open.
When Medvedev isn't playing matches, he's watching them as a tennis fan.
"I'm following all the matches, because I like tennis, I like to watch tennis," Medvedev told the media in Paris. "Especially when I'm in the tournament I like to put myself in this, let's say, tennis zone where I watch, when I'm with the physio, when I'm at home, I watch all the matches when I'm -- you know, I'm just checking the scores, because [there are] a lot of interesting matches.
"Especially yesterday I think, if I'm not mistaken, three guys from Love-2 went back to win the match."
For the Australian Open finalist, the tennis zone isn't just a place he visits on court.
"I like to follow tennis, less than when I'm not on the tournament because I like to focus just on personal life, whatever makes me happy," Medvedev said. "When I'm in the tournament I put myself in the zone, I watch all the matches and I like to follow. I don't care a little bit about the result. Just want to watch and see who wins."
The man nicknamed Meddy Bear roared reaching his first Roland Garros quarterfinal last spring.
Next up for Medvedev is another tough Serbian opponent, Miomir Kecmanovic, who is coached by former Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian.
The 28th-seeded Serbian stopped self-described anti-dirtballer Alexander Bublik 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 to reach the third round for the first time in four French Open appearances. It's the second straight major fourth round for Kecmanovic, who made the round of 16 in Melbourne.
Before facing Kecmanovic, Medvedev had another destination in mind: the practice court. Medvedev said he aims to work on driving the ball through the court.
"That's what I felt today during the match, that I couldn't really make the ball, you know, go through the air fast," Medvedev said. "So a lot of balls. I was just trying to put it in, running, running, running. So that's where I think it could be better, because again, the better, the tougher guys you play, the less they gonna miss and more you have to run and more it's going to be tough.
"That's where I could be better and that's what I managed to do well in the first round. Maybe it's the conditions; maybe it's me. Gonna work tomorrow a little bit on the practice courts and try to be better for next round."
Photo credit: Getty