Daniil Medvedev admits that he feels worse at the Australian Open compared to other events due to the conditions but he is still confident of winning the title one day.
The world No.3 kicked off his campaign at Melbourne Park on Monday which saw him overcome an early scare before his opponent was forced to retire in tears. Medvedev took on qualifier Terence Atmane who won the first set before he worked his way to a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 1-0, lead. Then the Frenchman was forced to call it quits due to severe cramping.
Atmane’s retirement occurred on a day when the temperature was around 27C and increased further in direct sunlight on the court. Much hotter than it has been in recent days at Melbourne Park.
“It was brutal conditions. What’s brutal is it hasn’t been hot for seven days here and now it is hot,” said Medvedev.
“I regained the momentum and when I started feeling tough, he started cramping.
“I get tired physically, but I know the other guy will tire physically too and see if the other can handle it better.”
The tournament has its own heat policy due to the Australian climate and players struggling in the heat at Melbourne Park is not uncommon. Medvedev, who is a two-time finalist at the Grand Slam, admits that the conditions can be tough for him to deal with.
“It’s probably true I feel a little worse in these conditions at the Australian Open than some other tournaments. At the same time, I was two times in the final, and in one I was close to winning one of them. So I hope I can show my best tennis one time here and win it.” He said.
“It’s my first tournament of the year. Even if you have a warm-up tournament, it’s still kind of the beginning of the year, so the sensations are different.” He added.
Medvedev is at his best on a hardcourt with 18 out of his 20 Tour titles being won on the surface so far in his career. He has now won 22 matches against seven losses at the Australian Open.
Should the Russian reach the final again this year he would become the 13th man in the Open Era to have done so on three or more occasions in Melbourne. Awaiting him in the next round will be Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori who beat Patrick Kypson 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4).
