Daniil Medvedev will have to wait a little longer to win his first singles title of the season after exiting early in Montréal once again.
The same thing happened to the 28-year-old in 2022 when he was ousted by Nick Kyrgios — who had just made the Wimbledon final — in his opening match. This time, it was Alejandro Davidovich Fokina who overcame Medvedev 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 at the first hurdle of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers on Thursday.
The Spaniard had lost all four of his previous matches against Medvedev, although he did make the semi-finals in Toronto last season for his best hard court Masters 1000 showing and owns career wins over the likes of Novak Djokovic, Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev.
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The quick transition from last week’s Paris Olympics on clay isn’t easy as many of the players have admitted but Medvedev rarely loses his opening match at a hard-court tournament. All six of his Grand Slam finals have come on hard and Medvedev won in Canada — in Toronto — in 2021.
“Well, I started off not playing too well, which can happen after coming from clay,” said the world no. 5. “Well, some players. It's difficult because I had practiced well, but when I started playing, I was not playing that well. “I was not able to make passing shots, and I missed some shots I shouldn't have missed. So, it became difficult, but I gave it my all. I tried to do my best today, but I believe he played a very good first and third set, and he won the match. It's a pity because it's not ideal for being confident for the future.”
Medvedev is usually neat and tidy in his hard-court numbers but he hit more unforced errors than winners — 26 to 25 — against the world no. 42. He lamented not taking a toilet break, too, at the end of the second set.
“This cost me some energy in the end,” he said.
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But Medvedev can still leave Montréal with a title — in doubles.
He and friend Roman Safiullin, who paired up at the Olympics, reached the quarter-finals with a 3-6, 6-1, 10-7 win over doubles specialists Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Santiago Gonzalez.
Medvedev has never won a top-tier doubles title and his last doubles title in any category came in 2016. While he said that heading to his next event, Cincinnati, would help him get used to those conditions, he was happy to stay in Montréal a little longer.
“I signed up with my friend, and we are playing well,” said Medvedev. “So, I will go as long as it takes playing doubles, no problem. I'm trying to improve my returns and my volley when I play doubles. We had two beautiful victories, and with my friend, we enjoy playing together.”
And besides, he can continue to enjoy the city and its great dining scene.
“Dinners are nice. There are good restaurants,” he added. “I am going to play doubles as long as I have to, no problem, and I'll have to stay a few more days in Montreal for that, but no problem. I like the city.”
Featured photo by: Sarah-Jäde Champagne
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