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Medvedev moves into French Open 3rd round; Zverev, Tsitsipas advance

Paris, Jun 2 (EFE).- Russian world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev rebounded from a slow start to defeat American Tommy Paul 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday night and secure a place in the French Open third round for the first time in his career.

The 25-year-old Medvedev, who had never advanced past the first round of Roland Garros in four previous appearances, looked sharp on the red clay from the middle of the first set onward and won the majority of the tough baseline exchanges throughout the two-hour, 18-minute contest.

Although he gets less penetration on his flat shots on the Parisian clay than he does on hard courts, Medvedev seemed perfectly comfortable on Court Philippe-Chatrier in striking 30 winners and keeping his unforced errors to a reasonably low 32.

While the Russian dropped serve on four occasions, he showed his strong return game by breaking Paul’s serve eight times during the match.

Next up for Medvedev in the third round will be big-serving American Reilly Opelka, who defeated Spain’s Jaume Munar on Tuesday 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.

Earlier Wednesday, three other young players who may benefit from being placed in the half of the draw that does not include either Spanish 13-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal or Serbian world No. 1 Novak Djokovic also advanced to the third round.

Greek world No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas had a fairly uneventful day at the office against 103rd-ranked Spaniard Pedro Martinez, moving through with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory.

“I really like playing in Paris,” Tsitsipas said after his second-round victory. “I feel like the fans have embraced me and made me one of them. So, I’m really glad my tennis is there, my performance is there, and I’m able to deliver not just good tennis but also create a good atmosphere on this court.”

Sixth-ranked German Alexander Zverev, this year’s Madrid Open champion, also advanced in straight sets, topping 182nd-ranked Roman Safiullin 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 7-6 (7-1).

Another fast-rising young player, 16th-ranked Norwegian Casper Ruud, moved into the French Open third round with a straight-forward 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win over Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak. EFE

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