Daniil Medvedev angrily broke the net camera during his five-set win over lower-ranked wild card Kasidit Samrej at the Australian Open.
Medvedev, a finalist at the Melbourne tournament 12 months ago, arrived late in Australia after giving birth to his second child and encountered major difficulties with world number 418 Thai Samrej.
As the 23-year-old won the third set to take the match two sets to one, fifth-seeded Medvedev repeatedly hit the center of the net with his racket, destroying a camera attached to it.
But like American teenager Nishesh Babareddy, who led Novak Djokovic on Monday, Samrej began to struggle physically and Medvedev fought back to win 6-2 4-6 3-6 6-1 6-2.
“I know that the more I play tennis, the better I can play,” the Russian said. “Why do you have to play for an hour and a half? Play for at least 3 hours.
“In the second and third sets, he couldn’t touch the ball. Full power, everything went in. He didn’t know what to do. If he played like this every game, his life would be good. Money, women, casinos.”
Medvedev regained his composure and succeeded in advancing to the second round.
Samrezi earned a wild card by winning the Asia-Pacific wild card playoffs, and is preparing for his Grand Slam debut by training with Djokovic in Thailand last month.
Medvedev struggled in the second half of last season but is hoping his new family will bring a change in his fortunes, with wife Daria giving birth to their second child just days before the Australian Open.
“It just gives me good energy,” he said. “At the end of last year, I probably would have lost this fight. At least for now, I need a new year and new energy. I’m glad I won this fight.”
Holger Rune He also needed five sets to get past China’s Zhang Zhizhen, with the veteran coming out in another match. Gael Monfils Win the battle for the Frenchman against his young compatriot Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Mpetshi Perricard is one of the hottest young prospects on tour and sent the fastest serve of the tournament so far at 144.2 miles per hour.
However, Monfils, who became the oldest singles winner on the ATP Tour last weekend in Auckland, won 7-6(7) 6-3 6-7(6) 6-7(5) 6-4.
“I don’t really check my age,” Monfils said. “It’s just a number. And then I try to avoid thinking about it, but I can tell you that tomorrow morning I’ll be more like 48 than 38.”
fourth seed taylor fritz He had a much easier time, beating fellow American Jenson Brooksby 6-2 6-0 6-3. ben shelton He earned his first win of 2025 by defeating Brandon Nakashima 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 7-5.
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