Medvedev demolishes Giron to signify Australian Open intent
Two-time losing finalist Daniil Medvedev fired up his bid to go one better at the Australian Open with a straight-sets demolition of Marcos Giron on Monday.
In just 1hr 36mins, the seventh seed in Russia was almost a foot taller that his opponent and defeated American 56th-ranked player 6-0, 6-1 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena.
His reward is a second round clash against Australian wildcard John Millman. John Millman won against Marc-Andrea Huesler of Switzerland in a five-setter.
He said, “Really happy about the match Marcos is a difficult opponent and to beat him in the first round is great,” “I’m very happy with my level.”
Medvedev lost to Novak Djokovic 2021, and Rafael Nadal 12 months later in five sets.
He said, “Great memories from last year, but it’s clear that I want to have better ones in the new year.”
After that disappointing defeat, the 2021 US Open Champion was back and became world number one. He spent 16 weeks there.
After only reaching the round of 16 at Roland Garros and US Open last year, he has seen his ranking drop to eight. Due to the Ukraine war, he was unable compete at Wimbledon.
Djokovic and Nadal continue to pose a roadblock in his quest for a second Grand Slam title, but his form against Giron suggests he is peaking at the right time.
The American made it to the top 50 and reached the Tour-level final in 2022 for the first time. However, he was not able to match the Russian.
Medvedev broke his very first service game. He finished the first set in 37 minutes. The second took 26 minutes. Giron was only three short of the winner.
Although the stunned Giron put up a better fight in the third set of the match, he was already out of the fight.
Medvedev is bidding for the honour of becoming the fourth man in Open era to reach the three consecutive Australian Open finals. He will be joining Mats Wilander, Djokovic, and Ivan Lendl.
He is wary of Millman and has never played Millman.
He stated, “He is a great player, especially here at Australia.”
“He can play some amazing tennis, so I’m going have to do my best.”
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