Daniil Medvedev will return to tour-level action at the Madrid Open on Saturday, two weeks after his incredibly short-lived Monte-Carlo Masters campaign.
In his first tournament of the clay season in Monte-Carlo, Medvedev was handed a heavy 6-0, 6-0 loss by Matteo Berrettini.
The Russian’s frustrations boiled over in the opening-round match against Berrettini, and he smashed his racket several times in front of the crowd.
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His meltdown in Monte-Carlo followed a very successful start to the 2026 season, during which Medvedev captured two titles, while also reaching the final in Indian Wells.
Clay has never been the 30-year-old’s strongest surface, and he has not helped himself with preparations for the swing, according to Serena Williams’ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou.
Patrick Mouratoglou explains Daniil Medvedev’s mistake on clay
In a post on Instagram, Mouratoglou said: “Daniil Medvedev is back in competition. We all have in mind his 6-0-6-0 loss against Berrettini.
“But my main takeaway is never forget the basis of your game. Here’s the mistake. He played in Monte Carlo on clay exactly the same way as he played his best matches on hardcourt.
“He played close to the baseline. He tried to win the point in the first three or four shots.
“When Alcaraz, after his loss against Daniil, said, ‘I’ve never seen, to be honest, Daniil playing like this’, Daniil said: ‘Right now I’m in confidence and when I’m in confidence I always say I feel like I’m an aggressive player’.
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“Daniil is completely right. The basis of his game is to cover the court extremely well, play 100 times the same spot if necessary, and of course if the player plays short, then he attacks. That’s his game.
“The thing is, he came to clay, and he thought, OK, I’m confident now, I’m going to do the same. No. Clay is a very different surface, so you have to adapt to it.”
Daniil Medvedev’s opening-round opponent at the Madrid Open
Seeded seventh at the Madrid Open, Medvedev will be one of many hoping to capitalise on the withdrawals of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
Medvedev is on the opposite half of the draw to world number one Jannik Sinner, and will have a great chance of making his first clay-court Masters 1000 final since the 2023 Italian Open.
After receiving a bye in round one, Medvedev’s first opponent comes in the form of Fabian Marozsan, whom he has faced three times before on the ATP Tour.
In all three previous meetings with the Hungarian, Medvedev has come out on top, with the most recent triumph secured at the 2026 Australian Open.
Should he advance past Marozsan, Medvedev will take on either Norwegian qualifier Nicolai Budkov Kjaer or Denis Shapovalov.
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