Daniil Medvedev has captured his 60th Grand Slam main draw win after overcoming a spirited effort from British wild card Arthur Fery in his opening match at Wimbledon.
The former US Open champion was the heavy favorite throughout the clash which he won 7-5, 6-4, 6-3, on Court One. However, at times Medvedev struggled with rhythm in his shotmaking and had to contend with some impressive play coming from across the court. He prevailed with the help of 45 winners and broke Fery six times.
“I was pretty nervous. I haven’t played here for two years and yesterday we didn’t get to play (due to the rain),” said Medvedev.
“Coming back onto Court One where I have the most Wimbledon wins in my career. This is my favorite court, so far, and I am really happy to be back.”
Wednesday’s match was a completely new experience for Fery who turns 21 next week. The wild card was making his Tour debut and playing a player ranked inside the world’s top 90 for the first time in his career. He is yet to beat anybody ranked higher than world No.148.
Nevertheless, the underdog proved to be a stern test for third-seed Medvedev. During what was a rollercoaster opening set, he broke for a 3-2 lead before dropping his serve in the following game due to back-to-back unforced errors. Fery didn’t look intimidated by the occasion as he matched his opponent shot-by-shot in many rallies. However, Medvedev managed to prevail in the opener by breaking once again following a brief rain delay.
A case of deja vu occurred in the second frame with Medvedev yet again appearing to look in control by breaking before instantly getting pegged back by the world No.391. Then another twist occurred with Medvedev winning eight out of the next nine points played to seal a two-set lead.
Knocking on the door of a place in the last 64, he still appeared to be occasionally unhappy with parts of his play with glares towards his camp in the crowd. Stil, he managed to close the match out in straight sets.
“His career is only starting. This was his first main draw of a Grand Slam. There is a long way to go if he wants to be at the top but that was a good match,” Medvedev said of Fery. “In tennis, we have like 500 players and then juniors coming up who can play good. Then it is whoever of these players is going to go higher. It’s a tough challenge like in every other sport.”
The former world No.1 is aiming to reach the quarter-final stage at Wimbledon for the first time this year. His best run was to the fourth round in 2021 before he was banned from competition in 2022 due to his country’s military actions against Ukraine.
“I didn’t know which reception I would get but it was just unbelievable. Honestly, I’m not loved everywhere for who I am. Sometimes I get crazy on the court. It was an amazing feeling to be back here.” He concluded.
Medvedev has now won 10 consecutive matches against British players on the Tour and has improved his winning record at Wimbledon to 9-4. In the next round, he will play either Alexander Shevchenko or Adrian Mannarino.
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