Medvedev remains impressed by fearsome Nadal clay rep

While not overly impressed with his own clay-court form, Daniil Medvedev has few doubts about the potential of Rafael Nadal as the French Open begins on Sunday.

While fifth seed Medvedev begins in the first round with Dominik Koepfer, 14-time Roland Garros winner Nadal faces a huge test against fourth seed and recent Rome champion Alexander Zverev to start.

The pair are drawn into the same quarter of the draw with a possible meeting in the quarter-finals.

Medvedev is the first to admit he’s far from fluent on the dirt, with a 2021 quarter-final in Paris ending a run of four straight losses in the first round.

He reverted to form here a year ago with another first-round exit.

Despite Nadal’s massive recent injury problems and his lack of match play, he cannot be written off according to Medvedev who trained with the Spaniard on Thursday.

And he does not believe that Zverev will have it all his own way against the scratchy past dominator at Roland garros.

“First round would be tough against someone who’s won 14 titles here. It could be a very interesting match. 

“I practised with Rafa and he played pretty well, like I felt much better than what I saw on TV in Rome and Madrid. 

“But again practice and matches are different. I’m going to be there watching a big match. 

“I’m not shy to say I’m happy it’s not me playing against him in the first round.”

He added: “It will be interesting to see how he plays against Zverev… Rafa will always be Rafa. He won here 14 times.

“Even if he may not be the favourite, he can perfectly win. He has only lost three or four times (in Paris). The match will be interesting.”