Surviving Samrej! Medvedev avoids historic upset at Australian Open

A shaky start, but Daniil Medvedev is up and running once again at the Australian Open.

The three-time finalist at Melbourne Park averted one of the biggest upsets in recent Grand Slam history on Tuesday by rallying to a 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 first-round triumph against World No. 418 Kasidit Samrej, of Thailand. Medvedev rescued an at-times wayward performance with some typically rock-solid play in the fourth and fifth sets to wear down an opponent who simultaneously began to struggle physically under the Melbourne sun.

“I watched his matches and didn’t see this level, so I was surprised,” acknowledged Medvedev in his on-court interview. “If he plays like this every match, life can be good… I wish he can play like this every match. [Not] if I’m facing him. You need to be consistent to make it in tennis, and I wish this for him.”

Daniil delivers 📮

He overcomes Samrej in a 5 set thriller, taking the win 6-2 4-6 3-6 6-1 6-2 🔥@australianopen | #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/AwQtbbuEt2

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 14, 2025

The No. 5 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Medvedev's mid-match struggles were reflected in his uncharacteristically high unforced error tally of 34, of which 17 came across the second and third sets according to Infosys Stats. However, that should not take away from an impressive effort from Samrej, who also demonstrated some big-stage nerve at key moments, particularly when he held serve from 3-3, 0/40 en route to clinching the third set.

Fresh from training with Novak Djokovic in the offseason, Samrej stepped on Rod Laver Arena to become just the third Thai player to contest a men’s singles match at a major in the Open Era and he delighted the crowd with his varied game. The 23-year-old showcased big weapons from the baseline, while he also deployed plenty of crafty drop shots to take the fight to Medvedev on his Grand Slam debut.

_{^{Kasidit Samrej in action against Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday afternoon at the Australian Open.}}

Having established a two-sets-to-one lead, the prospect of Samrej pulling off the lowest-ranked upset of a top five seed at a Slam in the Open Era was real. Yet the Thai, whose best previous win by PIF ATP Ranking was against then-No. 157 Coleman Wong at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Seoul last year, was unable to maintain his bid to also become the third lowest-ranked player to defeat a Top 5 opponent since 2000.

Having never played more than three sets in a professional match, Samrej drank pickle juice after suffering from cramp in the fourth set, during which Medvedev regained complete control. He broke Samrej’s serve twice in each of the fourth and fifth sets en route to a three-hour, eight-minute victory.

Medvedev is no stranger to going the distance at the Australian Open, where he won three five-set matches during his run to the 2024 final. Yet he will be relived to have avoided a huge upset in his opening match, during which he appeared a little rusty after his late arrival to Australia following the birth of his second child.

“I know that I play better when I play more tennis. So I was like, ‘Why play one hour, 30 [minutes], I need minimum three hours to feel my shots better and have a good sensation’,” joked Medvedev. “But speaking seriously, in the second and third sets I couldn’t touch the ball, no power or anything. I didn’t know what to do.”

A three-time finalist at Melbourne Park, Medvedev will hope to raise his level for his second-round match. His opponent will be another event debutant, Learner Tien. The 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF finalist earlier overcame Camilo Ugo Carabelli 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.