(Reuters) – World number two Daniil Medvedev fell to a 6-2 7-6(5) defeat by Frenchman Richard Gasquet at the Geneva Open on Tuesday on his return to the ATP tour, having spent six weeks recovering from a hernia operation.
Russia’s Medvedev, the U.S. Open champion had been out of action after undergoing surgery following the Miami Open quarter-finals.
The 26-year-old looked rusty in his first match back and Gasquet was in inspired form as he maintained constant pressure to outmanoeuvre the Russian in the opening set before taking a 3-1 lead in the second.
Medvedev found his rhythm with his powerful forehand and serve, winning the next three games on the bounce as he began to show signs of his pre-surgery form and looked to push for the decider but Gasquet prevailed 7-5 in the tiebreak.
The result earned the 35-year-old Gasquet his first win over a top-two player since 2005 and a place in the quarter-finals, where he will meet either Marco Cecchinato of Italy or Kamil Majchrzak of Poland.
Medvedev, who reached the quarter-finals of the French Open for the first time last year, will head into this year’s tournament woefully short of match practice when the Grand Slam begins on Sunday.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
