Daniil Medvedev, the 29-year-old Russian tennis star, leads the men’s draw at the 250-level Brisbane International, an event that serves as a warm-up to the Australian Open scheduled to start later this month in Melbourne. This marks Medvedev’s return to Brisbane after a seven-year absence, and he kicked off his campaign with a commanding 6-2, 6-3 victory over Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in a match that lasted just 70 minutes.
Medvedev expressed his satisfaction with the performance, saying, “I played great, and I am happy with my level. I could have played better on my serve a couple of times, but I played great from the baseline.” Currently ranked 13th in the world, he now sets his sights on Frances Tiafoe, who advanced by defeating Australian wildcard Alexander Vukic 6-2, 6-2.
As he aims for his 22nd title, Medvedev has enlisted the help of coach Thomas Johansson, who joined his team late last season. Reflecting on their collaboration, he noted, “We had the end of the season to see if it would work out or not. It was working great, not only in terms of results but in terms of relationships, off court and on court.”
In other matches, defending champion Jiri Lehecka secured his spot in the second round by overcoming Tomas Machac in a hard-fought contest that concluded 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2. Lehecka will next face Sebastian Korda, who triumphed over Frenchman Valentin Vacherot with a score of 7-6(1), 6-3. Also advancing to the second round is Alex Michelsen, who managed to defeat Australia’s James Duckworth 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 6-3; he will now take on the rising star Learner Tien.
Reilly Opelka, last year’s finalist, defeated Dane Sweeny 6-3, 7-5, and is set to clash with Kamil Majchrzak next. Quentin Halys also progressed, overcoming Alexei Popyrin 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. There are still seven first-round matches on the schedule, including a highly anticipated match between Cameron Norrie and Ugo Humbert.
The competitive spirit shown by Medvedev and the other players sets an exciting tone for the tournament, providing an optimistic lead-up to the Australian Open, where fans will be eager to see how these athletes perform on the grand stage.