PARIS, May 30. Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev advanced to the next round of the 2024 French Open in Paris on Thursday after defeating 2nd Round opponent Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia.

Less than an hour into the match, with Medvedev winning 6-1; 5-0, the Serbian player retired due to medical reasons.

"I was happy with my level and looking forward to next matches," the Association of tennis Professionals quoted Medvedev, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, as saying after his match against Kecmanovic.

"Of course a bit lucky with all the weather to be finished in good timing with my second round and getting ready for the third round," the Russian tennis player added.

Medvedev, 28, is currently fifth in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Rankings. In 2022, the top Russian racket spent sixteen weeks as the number one player in the world. He is the 2021 US Open Champion and has 20 ATP tournament titles under his belt. He won five of these 20 titles in 2023. Also, in 2021, he won the Davis Cup as well as the ATP Cup playing for the Russian national team.

One of tennis’ four Grand Slam events, the 2024 French Open is taking place in Paris, nicknamed the "City of Light," between May 26 and June 9. The tournament is played on outdoor clay courts and offers a purse of 53.478 million euros (almost $57.900 million) in prize money.

Russian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022 to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.

On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from the 2022 Davis Cup and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.

However, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) allowed tennis players from Russia and Belarus to continue participating in WTA and ATP tournaments, but only under a neutral status.