MELBOURNE, Australia — Daniil Medvedev used his racket to smash a tiny digicam connected to the online on the Australian Open whereas he was trailing somebody ranked 418th earlier than ultimately avoiding a monumental upset and profitable 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 within the first spherical at Rod Laver Enviornment on Tuesday.
The No. 5-seeded Medvedev earned the title on the 2021 US Open and is a three-time runner-up at Melbourne Park, together with a yr in the past, however was hardly enjoying his finest within the second and third units in opposition to Kasidit Samrej, a wild-card entry from Thailand who was making his Grand Slam debut.
“I do know I play higher once I play extra tennis,” Medvedev joked afterward. “So I used to be like, ‘Why play 1 hour, 30 [minutes]?’ Want a minimal of three hours, a minimum of, to really feel my photographs higher.”
The camera-destroying racket swings occurred in what can be the final sport of the third set, which Samrej claimed to take a 2-1 lead within the best-of-five match.
Medvedev’s show of anger got here after he misplaced a 13-stroke level to path 40-15. Samrej hit a shot that clipped the online, altering its trajectory and throwing off Medvedev’s steadiness, earlier than a cross-court forehand passing winner left Medvedev unable to make contact.
Medvedev went as much as the online and introduced his racket ahead with full drive 5 occasions, breaking his gear whereas shattering a small black digicam and sending items of it flying. That earned a code violation warning for racket abuse from the chair umpire.
Quickly sufficient, Medvedev had dropped the set, leaving him with loads of work to do to keep away from an enormous upset in his first match of the 2025 season. Medvedev rapidly did flip issues round, although, claiming 12 of the remaining 15 video games, and 61 of the remaining 94 factors.
He completed with 24 aces and fewer than half as many unforced errors as Samrej, 34 to 69.
“Ultimately of final yr, this match, I most likely would have misplaced it,” stated Medvedev, who went 3-1 in five-setters on the 2024 Australian Open. “New yr, new vitality.”
Samrej bought remedy from a coach due to an issue along with his left leg late within the fourth set.
He was attempting to grow to be the lowest-ranked man to remove one of many high 5 seeded gamers at a Grand Slam match because the ATP’s computerized rankings started in 1973, in accordance with the Worldwide Tennis Federation.
The largest such outcome getting into Tuesday was when No. 234 Alex Kim beat No. 4 Yevgeny Kafelnikov on the 2002 Australian Open.
Samrej earned his means into this yr’s Australian Open bracket by going by 4 rounds of a wild-card playoff for the Asia-Pacific area in November. He had by no means performed in opposition to somebody ranked increased than 78th till Tuesday and has not overwhelmed anybody ranked increased than 157th.
“I watched his matches, and I did not see this stage, so I used to be stunned,” Medvedev stated. “If he performs like this each match, his life will probably be good.”
