Daniil Medvedev was his own worst enemy in his Australian Open first round match against Kasidit Samrej, but he did finally emerge victorious.
Medvedev was booed by the Australian Open crowd during the match at Rod Laver Arena, with his frustrations leading to a furious outburst that resulted in a smashed racket.
ATP number five Medvedev is expecting a fine for his outburst, which ultimately made no difference on the outcome of the match.
The 2024 Australian Open finalist triumphed 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 over Thailand’s Samrej, who sits 418th in the world rankings.
Medvedev now takes on American teenager Learner Tien in round two, with the qualifier having also come through a five-set thriller in round one against Camilo Ugo Carabelli.

Daniil Medvedev posts stunning first serve points won percentage against Kasidit Samrej
The fifth seed won’t be thrilled about the nature of his win, although he did manage to really impress with his service game in that opening round victory.
His first serve points won percentage was highlighted against Samrej, having posted phenomenal tallies of 100%, 80%, 85%, 100% and 100% across the five sets.
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Boasting a serve rating of 225, he fired a huge 24 aces throughout the match, although that was accompanied by eight double faults.
Daniil Medvedev among serving masterclasses on Australian Open day three
Medvedev is certainly not among the most impressive servers on the ATP Tour, with the Russian currently 38th in the list for first serve points won percentage (73.2%).
The 28-year-old also occupies an unwanted fourth spot for average double faults per match, with a figure of 4.8.
But something seemingly changed in his meeting with Samrej, who admittedly is a sub-400 ranked player, which is significant.
Still, in a match that he didn’t exactly have much to celebrate, Medvedev can take confidence from his superb serving.
It remains to be seen if such figures can be posted against Tien, whose fellow NextGen ATP Finals star Joao Fonseca also put on a serving masterclass to knock out Andrey Rublev in round one.
Matteo Berrettini meanwhile thundered down 32 aces in his win over Cameron Norrie, with a combined 37 aces between Gael Monfils and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in their all-French battle.
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