WATCH: Daniil Medvedev practices on clay ahead of his return

World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev has been out of action for over a month with a health ailment but is back on the clay courts working on his fitness.

Medvedev underwent hernia surgery in April, shortly after announcing it on social media. It's been a problem that he says has bothered him for a while. The timing of his return to the courts couldn't have been any better, as Roland Garros is just around the corner.

The clay court surface is the most challenging for Medvedev, who has stated his dislike for it in previous interviews. Therefore, it made sense that he chose to skip some of the big tournaments taking place on the European clay, like the Madrid Open and Italian Open, to focus on getting treatment.

The Russian last played at the Miami Open, where he lost to Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets in the quarterfinal stage. To say the least, it's been a mixed season for Medvedev.

He came up short in his bid to win back-to-back Grand Slams in January when he lost to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final. The 26-year-old led the legendary Spaniard by two sets to love but lost in five sets for a second time to him (he also lost the 2019 US Open final).

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WATCH: Daniil Medvedev returns to practice after surgery

Initially, Medvedev was seen practicing only on a hard court in the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, but now he's switched to clay and shared a video of his training session on Instagram, suggesting he wants to give himself a good shot at competing at Roland Garros where expectations will be low.

His schedule before Paris remains unclear, although he can still play in Geneva, an ATP 250 event held in the final week before the clay-court Grand Slam begins.

Medvedev won't be allowed to compete at the 2022 Wimbledon thereafter because of the ban imposed on Russian and Belarusian players, but he is poised to play the first part of the grass-court swing.

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