Daniil
Medvedev (No. 3) overcame a set down and defeated Terence Atmane (No. 145) by
5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 1-0, and retirement. The Russian tennis player played his first
official match of the season at the Margaret Court Arena and had to solve
issues with his serve to come back from a set behind.
His
opponent had a good rhythm after successfully navigating through the three
qualifying matches and entering the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first
time in his career at the age of just 22. Atmane finished 2023 with three
challenger titles and proved to be a challenging opponent for the Russian.
In the
first set, everything seemed to be progressing smoothly for Medvedev, who took
a break in the third game and gained an advantage that he maintained throughout
the set thanks to effective serving. The former US Open champion made errors
when serving to take the set, and Atmane seized the opportunity to level at
5-5. The Frenchman took the lead with the serve and ultimately secured a second
consecutive break to surprise and win the first set 7-5 by winning four
consecutive games.
Medvedev
entered the second set already demonstrating the favoritism he had before the
match. The former world No. 1 took two consecutive breaks and gained a 4-0 lead
in a few minutes. With the score at 5-1 and Atmane serving, Medvedev had four
set points that he couldn't capitalize on in the return, but in the next game,
he didn't disappoint with his serve and took the second set 6-2.
In the
third set, consecutive breaks were taken in the third and fourth games,
bringing them to a 2-2 tie, and quickly Medvedev secured a second consecutive
break to take a 4-2 lead. The Russian didn't drop his level, and despite not
being very effective in the return, he was flawless with his service and took
the third set 6-4.
At the
start of the fourth set, Atmane was seen with physical discomfort and conceded
the first service game, allowing Medvedev to take a 1-0 lead. After the game,
the young Atmane retired from the match due to cramps, and the Russian advanced
7-5, 2-6, 4-6, 1-0, ret. In the second round, he will face the dangerous
Finnish player Emil Ruusuvuori (No. 50), who defeated the qualifier Patrick
Kypson (No. 186) in the first round by 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4).
