Daniil Medvedev reveals how French Open looks without Rafael Nadal participating

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Daniil Medvedev admits the French Open is "a different tournament" without Rafael Nadal participating. Nadal, a record 14-time French Open champion, made his debut at Roland Garros in 2018 when he as an 18-year-old became a Grand Slam champion.

Between 2005 and 2022, Nadal made 18 consecutive French Open appearances. This year, Nadal is missing the French Open after failing to recover in time from an injury suffered to his psoas muscle. "The tournament is different without Rafael Nadal.

We might have a new winner here!" Medvedev said, via Tennis Majors.

Daniil Medvedev : « The tournament is different without Rafael Nadal. We might have a new winner here! » #RolandGarros2023 — Tennis Majors (@Tennis_Majors) May 26, 2023

Can Medvedev win the French Open in the Nadal absence?

Medvedev, who was very open about his disliking for clay in the previous years, has been playing good tennis on the slowest tennis surface this year.

A week ago, Medvedev won his first clay title after beating Holger Rune in the Rome Masters final. During his pre-tournament press conference, Medvedev was asked if he could win the French Open. “I don’t know.

Because I also don’t want to put too much pressure on myself, in a way. What happened in Rome was amazing, especially beating a lot of good players, you know: (Alexander) Zverev, (Stefanos) Tsitsipas, (Holger) Rune, (Bernabe) Zapata Miralles, (Emil) Ruusuvuori who went three sets with (Carlos) Alcaraz in Madrid.

That’s amazing feeling, and I’m for sure maybe have more expectation than I usually had in Roland Garros. But I know that it’s also tricky and you have to kind of use this confidence, but not get cocky, if we can say, because that’s where the danger is.

Sometimes you think, oh, well, I played so well, now it’s going to be easy. Then the first round you have problems. You can get angry and maybe lose the match. So I have been in this situation many times, and I just want to try to play good tennis here in Roland-Garros," Medvedev said. Medvedev is the second-seeded player and plays a qualifier in the first round.