Daniil Medvedev did not convince in the slightest in his first match at the 2025 Australian Open. The Russian champion prevailed in five sets against Kasidit Samrej number 418 in the ATP ranking who came close to one of the greatest feats of recent years by playing a great match.
After a fairly easy first set, the 2021 US Open champion significantly lowered his level and risked suffering a defeat that would have had very negative repercussions on his mind for the rest of the season.
The player from Moscow is going through a very delicate phase of his career, having returned from a 2024 in which he did not win a single title and in which he lost almost all his certainties. The former world No.1 said he worked very well during the off-season with his two coaches Gilles Simon and Gilles Cervara, but his first official match in 2025 fell far short of expectations.
A bad start
Daniil who reached the final at Melbourne Park in 2021, 2022 and 2024 can only save one detail in his match against Samrej. When he put the first serve on the court, the Russian ace got a monstrous percentage of points won in all sets.
With the first serve, the current world number 5 won 100% of the points in the first set, 80% in the second set, 85% in the third set and 100% in both the fourth and fifth sets.
His performance was still insufficient despite this data and Medvedev is aware that he has to grow a lot to get a good result here. His opponent in the second round will be a very promising young talent Learner Tien who reached the final at the Next Gen Finals in Saudi Arabia last month.
The feeling is that if he does not raise his level Daniil risks further exacerbating his crisis and entering a negative spiral that could affect his entire 2025 season. During his first-round match, the former world No.1 again expressed his frustration by hitting the net with his racket in the latter stages of the third set.
