"Daniil Medvedev is playing with the mind of everyone else, he's a genius"

Daniil Medvedev has been labeled a "genius" by former World No. 2 Alex Corretja after the Russian's title at the 2023 Italian Open. Medvedev defeated Holger Rune 7-5, 7-5 in the final of the 2023 Italian Open on May 21 to bag the first claycourt title of his career.

The World No. 2 had an incredible run in Rome, dropping just one set on his way to the trophy. Daniil Medvedev has now earned enough ranking points to be the second seed for the 2023 French Open.

The Russian has impressed many, including former Spanish pro Alex Corretja.

"He is unique," Corretja said in a recent interview with Eurosport. "He is someone that you don't know what to think is on his mind because he is saying things when maybe he feels different things. I think in his mind he's playing with the mind of everyone else, with the opponent, with the crowds. I think he's a genius, honestly."

Daniil Medvedev defeated Emil Ruusuvuori in the first round, Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the second round, and Alex Zverev in the third round. He went on to dispatch Yannik Hanfmann in the quarterfinals, before beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals and Holger Rune in the final.

"He is just definitely someone who is so tough to beat," Corretja added. "He now knows how to play differently on clay. He's hitting that forehand much harder than before, and his backhand is always deep, but he is coming a little bit closer from the baseline. He defends very well."

Medvedev's best result at the French Open so far has been reaching the quarterfinals in 2021, where he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas, 3-6, 6-7, 5-7. But many expect this year to be different, in light of his decisive win at the Rome Masters.

Corretja, who played in two Roland Garros finals during his career, went on to say:

"I'm sure that playing against him best of five is not going to be any easy. He has time to do different things and he's got the patience. You need to be there for many hours to beat him, so you need to play very well if you want to be the best of five."

Daniil Medvedev's worst Grand Slam is, surprisingly, not the French Open

Even though Daniil Medvedev hadn't had success on clay before this year's Italian Open, he has historically done better at the French Open than at Wimbledon.

The 27-year-old's best result in London has been reaching the fourth round in 2021, where he lost to Hubert Hurkacz in four sets.

As far as the other Majors are concerned, Medvedev has won the US Open once, defeating Novak Djokovic in the 2021 final. At the Australian Open, he has lost twice in the finals - to Djokovic in 2021 and to Rafael Nadal in 2022.

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Edited by Yasho Amonkar

"Daniil Medvedev is playing with the mind of everyone else, he's a genius" - Alex Corretja

Daniil Medvedev's worst Grand Slam is, surprisingly, not the French Open