LONDON:
Former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev said he was “not panicking” after a shock first-round defeat at Wimbledon extended his dismal Grand Slam form this year.
The Russian ninth seed lost 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 to France’s Benjamin Bonzi in three hours and seven minutes in sweltering conditions on Court Two
Medvedev reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2023 and 2024 but the Russian’s bid for another strong run at the All England Club came to an abrupt end at the hands of the world number 64.
It was the first time in seven Wimbledon appearances that Medvedev has failed to advance past the opening round.
Medvedev, a six-time Grand Slam finalist, has endured a dismal year at the majors, losing in the Australian Open second round and French Open first round before his Wimbledon flop.
The 29-year-old, who won the US Open in 2021, defeated top seeded Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon quarter-finals last year before losing to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals.
But the Russian was sanguine about his defeat on Monday, saying he would be “very worried” had he not reached the final at this month’s Halle grass-court event, which he lost to Alexander Bublik.
“I had a great week of preparation because I come in with confidence after Halle,” said Medvedev. “I literally won every practice set I played. But it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter for the match. The match is a new story. “First round, for sure many, many times you play a bit worse. If it would be second or third round, maybe I could have better shots, play better.”
The Russian had angrily slammed his racquet against his chair after losing, but said he was confident he will get back on track.
“It’s not panicking. But I was really worried after ‘s-Hertogenbosch (where he lost in the quarter-finals to Reilly Opelka). It was a lot of losses,” he said. “For me it’s a matter of confidence. Again, I come back to this Halle tournament. If it would not be there, I would be here and say, ‘Look, something is definitely missing’. “But no, just a matter of couple of matches, win matches. I feel like this year I lost a lot of close calls. When I start winning them, I can go up the rankings. “For the moment, I’m not that worried. If I finish the year somewhere around 15 in the world, maybe I will be more worried. For the moment, I am not.”
