Three-time runner-up Daniil Medvedev believes that the Australian Open should begin their evening session an hour earlier to reduce late-night finishes based on his own experiences.
Last year at Melbourne Park, the former world No.1 lost to Learner Tien in a five-set thriller that didn’t conclude until 02:54 local time. Meanwhile, In 2024, his match against Emil Ruusuvuori didn’t end until 3:40am. The latest match finish at the tournament was in 2008 when Lleyton Hewitt’s clash with Marcos didn’t end until 4:34am.
“I am OK playing at night, but it is just that the first match starts at 7pm,” Medvedev said on Friday.
“When you have one match of five sets, and both of them went for five for me, it is a bit too late to start at 7pm. They should be starting at 6pm.”
Medvedev, who added he was ‘kind of ok’ with finishing late to a certain extent as he likes playing at night, is hoping to end his run of poor results at major events. Last year, he failed to win back-to-back at all four Grand Slam tournaments. In terms of match wins, it was his worst performance since 2017.
However, the Russian has enjoyed strong runs at the Australian Open, where he has reached the final in three out of his last five appearances. Currently, he has a win-loss record of 28-9 at the tournament.
“I like playing in the Australian Open, I feel like I can play good tennis there,” he said.
“I’ve played some great matches. I know when I play my best tennis I am able to beat anyone.
“I like generally to play on hard courts. The courts are pretty fast, so it suits me well.”
Guiding Medvedev is coach Thomas Johansson, who won the Australian Open in 2002, which was his only triumph at a major. The Swede was brought in last year to replace Gilles Cervara, who mentored Medvedev for eight years.
Medvedev will start his new season at the Brisbane International, where he will be the top seed.
