Former world No 1 Daniil Medvedev ended his 370-day wait for a win at the grand slams after beating Jesper de Jong in the first round of the Australian Open.
Medvedev had suffered consecutive first-round exits at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open in a dismal run in 2025, following a second-round defeat to Learner Tien at the Australian Open last year.
But a revitalised Medvedev, who arrived in Melbourne having won the 22nd title of his career in Brisbane last week, rattled off a 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (2) victory over De Jong to snap his losing run at the majors in style.
Medvedev will now face Frenchman Quentin Halys in the second round, while the potential obstacle of seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round was removed after the Canadian retired from his opening match as he suffered from cramp.
Medvedev, the 11th seed, saw his form improve last season following his split from his long-term coach Gilles Cervara, which came after the Russian’s extraordinary on-court meltdown during his first-round defeat at the US Open in August.
And the former US Open champion said he is trying to be “more positive” on the court and praised the impact of his new team, Thomas Johansson and Rohan Goetzke, for being “a breath of fresh air”.
“Last year was tough,” Medvedev said. “I’m feeling great with my new team, so I don’t really go too much into the past. What happened last year happened, and it’s okay. It’s part of [a] career, part of life. I managed to finish the year like 12 or 13 [in the world], which is, to be honest, it’s great for many players.
“Of course, I was not happy. It was first year I was not in Turin [at the ATP Finals], maybe after seven or eight years. It was still not that bad, and the end of the year was better than the year itself.
“I made a big push to try to be more positive on the court. So far, I’m doing it well, but I’m never the guy to say, okay, now, not anymore. We don’t know what’s coming, but just trying to be positive on the court as I am in life, actually.”
