Daniil Medvedev rues 'heavy balls' following early French Open exit

Russian star Daniil Medvedev feels the 'heavy balls' led to his first-round French Open exit at the hands of qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild.

The world number two succumbed to a surprise 7-6(5) 6-7(6) 6-2 6-3 6-4 defeat against 172-ranked Wild in the first round of the Roland Garros on Tuesday.

Medvedev, who had come into the tournament on the back of winning his first clay court title at the Italian Open, admitted to struggling with the stronger winds in Paris this year but also shifted the blame towards the heavier balls used at the current tournament.

"It was very tough with the wind," said the former US Open champion.

"But it's strange, because it was here from the first day like six days ago, same direction, always on centre. I don't remember this from previous years. Well, it is what it is. It was not easy, but, okay, it's part of the game.

"But yeah, with the heavy balls, adjusting with the wind was not easy. In my opinion, players who have like - I don't know how even to say it - a wrist game, like my opponent today, like Carlos [Alcaraz], I think Stefanos [Tsitsipas] a little bit… have a big advantage with these balls, because they can create easy power, which I don't have.

"That was a little bit the case today. He was controlling almost all the points, and I was suffering a lot, especially on the side against the wind. That's why yeah, that's basically why it was tough and why I lost."

The 27-year-old will now shift his focus to Wimbledon, having missed out on the tournament since 2021 when all Russian and Belarusian players were banned from participating due to the war in Ukraine.

Wimbledon will begin on the week of July 3.

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