Australian Open 2023: Daniil Medvedev advances to second round
Russian star Daniil Medvedev beat America's Marcos Giron in the opening round at the Australian Open on Monday. The former raced to a 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 win to proceed to the second round in Melbourne. Medvedev is raring to go the extra mile this time, having finished as the Australian Open runner-up in 2021 and 2022. He will next take on John Millman.
Key stats of the match
Medvedev won a total of 91 points, while Giron finished with 40 less than the former. The Russian struck 29 winners compared to Giron's seven. Medvedev fired as many as nine aces in the match, with Giron settling with one. The former recorded a win percentage of 78 and 59 on his first and second serve, respectively. Medvedev registered four double faults.
A look at the head-to-head record
Medvedev now enjoys a perfect 2-0 record in her WTA head-to-head encounters against Giron. The duo first met in the Cincinnati Masters in 2022, with the former winning in straight sets. Notably, Medvedev lost in quarter-finals of the tournament to Roberto Bautista Agut. It is worth noting that Medvedev is yet to drop a set against Giron on the ATP tour.
Medvedev to face Millman
As stated, Medvedev, the seventh seed, will face John Millman in the second round. The Australian wild card defeated Marc-Andrea Huesler 6-7(8), 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-3 in his opening round. Medvedev and Millman will lock horns for the first time.
How did Medvedev fare in 2022?
Prior to the Australian Open, Medvedev reached the semi-finals in Adelaide International 1, having lost to Novak Djokovic. The Russian suffered back-to-back defeats at the ATP Finals and Paris Masters. Before that, Medvedev won in Vienna, one of his two titles in 2022. The other title came in Los Cabos in August. Medvedev had a win-loss record of 45-19 in 2022.
Medvedev could reach his third consecutive Australian Open final
Medvedev now has a 20-6 win-loss record at the Australian Open. As per ATP, he could become the fourth man to reach three consecutive Australian Open finals. Mats Wilander, Ivan Lendl, and Djokovic are the others to have attained this feat.
