Daniil Medvedev is no longer a pushover at the French Open.
The two-time finalist at hard-court Grand Slam tournaments is finally making some headway on the red clay of Roland Garros. He reached the third round in Paris for the first time by coming back from a poor start to eliminate Tommy Paul of the U.S. by a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 score on Wednesday night.
The No. 2-seeded Medvedev carried an 0-4 record at the French Open into this year's draw. But he is 2-0 in Week 1 this time so far.
The runner-up to Rafael Nadal at the 2019 U.S. Open and to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open this February next plays big-serving American Reilly Opelka, who is seeded 32nd.
Opelka will also be in the French Open's third round for the first time. He advanced Wednesday with a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 victory over Jaume Munar.
