In men’s tennis, Russia is coming.
Monday afternoon Daniil Medvedev, a 21-year-old who had never won a Grand Slam match, upset Stan Wawrinka, the French Open finalist and fifth seed at Wimbledon, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. In the last few games Wawrinka, age 32, looked tired and helpless as the 6’6” Medvedev swatted serves and cranked flat forehand bombs. After the victory, Medvedev kissed the grass on Centre Court.
“It’s my favorite tournament, my first Grand Slam win, so I had to kiss the grass,” Medvedev said.
Wawrinka, a two-time quarterfinalist at Wimbledon, lost in the French Open final a few weeks ago. He often begins tournaments with rust and his success on grass has been shakier than on clay and hard courts. He also has some knee tenderness, which limited his training in the run-up to Wimbledon. The bottom line, though, is still surprise: The top-ranked men have been so dominant lately that this defeat counts as a major upset.
“I wasn’t feeling the way I wanted to feel,” Wawrinka said. “But [I played] against a great player who I think was confident today, was playing well, was playing faster.”
Medvedev, ranked 49th in the world, is one of a growing pack of young Russian men who, after years of decline, are on the rise. Karen Khachanov, 21, won his first-round match in five sets against Andrey Kuznetsov, age 26. Andrey Rublev, a 19-year-old, will play on Tuesday against a qualifier. He won a round at the Australian Open this year.
As for Medvedev, he’ll receive a nice gift after an early upset: A much easier second round match. He’ll play a qualifier from Belgium, Ruben Bemelmans, on Wednesday.
