The French Open has already seen a major upset as world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev was knocked out by Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild in the first round on Tuesday.
The world No. 172 showed little sign of nerves by beating Medvedev in a thrilling five-set encounter – 7-6(5) 6-7(6) 2-6 6-3 6-4 – in over four hours on court.
Medvedev is certainly not at his best on the surface but was coming into Roland Garros off the back of winning his first clay-court trophy at this year’s Italian Open.
He was widely expected to beat Seyboth Wild – who was making his first main draw appearance at the grand slam – but the Brazilian came out swinging, dominating the match with his powerful forehand in windy conditions.
“I have watched Daniil play for my entire junior career, up until today. Playing on this court against this kind of player and beating him is a dream come true,” Seyboth Wild, 23, said during his on-court interview.
“Walking on court, I just wanted to get to the net as much as possible and use my forehand against his and it worked pretty well.”
After winning the opening set, Seyboth Wild squandered set points in the second which allowed Medvedev to grow into the game.
The Russian then won the third set with ease but continued to struggle with his consistency and was clearly frustrated.
It allowed the Brazilian to recover and take the match into a nail-biting deciding set in which he held his nerve to see out a memorable win on Philippe Chatrier.
After winning match point with another crushing forehand, the beaming Brazilian turned to the crowd in disbelief, before raising his arms aloft.
“It was pretty tough. I started cramping in the second set. I did my best and tried to play my best tennis and it worked,” Seyboth Wild said. “I am really happy with the way I played.”
He will now face either Quentin Halys or Guido Pella in the second round.