MELBOURNE, Australia – After the season he leaves, 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev is celebrating his run to the third round at the Australian Open as positive progress.
His results at Grand Slam events in 2025 – first-round losses at the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open after a second-round exit in Australia after destroying a small camera at the net while avoiding a monumental upset in the first – were his worst since his debut season in 2017.
He lost his cool in New York and was fined $42,500 by the US Open – more than a third of his $110,000 tournament prize money – for his breakdown during a first-round loss after a photographer walked onto the court during the match.
He won one title in 2025 – in Almaty, Kazakhstan in October – from 24 tournaments contested, and reached only one other final. He has 22 career titles.
Not much was working for the three-time Australian Open runner-up.
So after dropping the first set against French qualifier Quentin Halys in the second round on Wednesday, he had to mentally put it aside and start all over again.
“The performance could be better, I think, but a win is a win,” he said. “Last year at Slams, when people played well against me, I struggled.
“So I’m happy that I managed to win it, turn it around and… I’m looking forward to the next rounds.”
He reached three finals in four years at the Australian Open but lost them all, including the 2024 championship to Jannik Sinner.
The 29-year-old Russian opened this year with a title in Brisbane, and is now on a seven-match winning streak in Australia. He has left 2025 behind him. The difference, he said, comes down to mentality.
When he was regularly in the top five and going deep at the majors, he expected to win all the time. Now he has learned to compartmentalize and can put losses – games, sets or matches – behind him.
“I managed to fight. I lost by a break in the second – I mean, you saw the match. Why am I telling you?” Medvedev said this in his court interview on Wednesday. “His forehand was on fire. He didn’t miss much. He made some unbelievable ones. He made some unbelievable ones.”
“Mentally a very tough match, but I’m happy that I was able to dig deep and win.”
He is looking forward to his next match against Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan and won’t be thinking any further for now.
“I have to rebuild my confidence step by step,” he said. “Always maintain confidence!”
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