After a morale-sapping 370 day wait, Daniil Medvedev has finally ended his Grand Slam win drought by securing a straight-sets Australian Open victory over Jesper de Jong on Monday.
The Russian endured a miserable major run in 2025 that saw him fall to a first-round exit at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open but swerved a fourth by defeating his Dutch opponent 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 win on Margaret Court Arena.
Medvedev, seeded 11th, has started the year in fine fashion after winning the Brisbane International earlier this month, with his 2026 record now reading 6-0.
“So far I'm doing it well,” the 2021 US Open winner and former world No 1 said. “We don't know what's coming, but just trying to be positive on the court as I am in life.
“What happened last year happened, and it's OK. It's part of career, part of life.”
Medvedev admitted was looking forward to plunging into an ice bath after overcoming heat and serving issues at Melbourne Park.
“The conditions felt slow, so we were both breaking each other's serve a lot,” said Medvedev, who has finished runner-up three times at Melbourne Park and will face Frenchman Quentin Halys in the second round.
“It is warm, but I felt OK and I think then he was probably struggling a tiny bit more than me … Hopefully it doesn't get worse than what we felt here. For sure, a bit of an ice bath never feels bad after such a warm match.”
Novak Djokovic's latest attempt to win a 25th Grand Slam title began with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 thrashing of Pedro Martinez of Spain, which was the Serbian's 100th Australian Open win.
“What can I say? I like the sound of it – centurion is pretty nice, it's a nice feeling to be a centurion. I always give my best when I'm on the court,” said Djokovic, 38, who has won the Melbourne crown 10 times.
“History-making is great motivation, particularly in the last five to 10 years of my career once I got myself into a position that I could eventually make history, I was even more inspired to play the best tennis and that's what I've done.
“I'm blessed to be playing at this level and another win here tonight is a dream come true.”
Home hope and sixth seed Alex de Minaur is safely through to the next round after cruising past lucky loser Mackenzie McDonald, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 48 minutes.
But Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime, seeded seventh, was forced to retire from his match against Nuno Borges due to persistent leg cramps with the Portuguese 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 ahead.
“I want to be on the court winning. I want to be on the court competing with my opponent,” said Auger-Aliassime. “I don't want to be just standing there like a punching bag. So there's no point, and you know to move on.”
Former champion Stan Wawrinka turned the clock back as the 40-year-old came from a set down and beat unseeded Serb Laslo Djere 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 7-6. It was the veteran's first Grand Slam match victory since Wimbledon in 2024 and his first at Melbourne since 2021.
In the women's draw, second seed Iga Swiatek defeated China's Yuan Yue 7-6, 6-3 but the victory on Rod Laver Arena came in unconvincing fashion as the Pole chases a career Grand Slam at the age of 24.
Swiatek, who made 35 unforced errors, said: “For sure I was a bit rusty at the beginning. I didn't start well and she seized the opportunity.
“I knew if I put the hard work in, I'll play better so that's what I tried to do. I'm happy that it worked. Many ups and downs. I have some stuff to work on so I'll focus on that.”
There were no such issues for American trio Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula – seeded third, fourth and sixth respectively – who all powered into the second round.
Two-time Slam winner Gauff defeated Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan 6-2, 6-3, Anisimova secured a 6-3, 6-2 win over Simona Waltert of Switzerland, while Pegula demolished Russia's Anastasia Zakharova 6-2, 6-1.
There was better news for Zakharova's countrywoman Mirra Andreeva as the eighth seed finished strongly to beat Croatia's Donna Vekic 6-4, 3-6, 6-0.
