The China Mail - Racquet-smashing Medvedev survives Australian Open fright

The feisty Russian, a three-time finalist in Melbourne, lost his cool in the third set before rallying to beat unheralded Thai Kasidit Samrej 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena.

Fifth seed Medvedev was 3-5 behind and on the brink of going two sets to one down against a player ranked 418 when he exploded, slamming his racquet into the net camera repeatedly until they both became a broken mess.

Ball kids had to sweep up the debris when he lost the game and set, while the match was postponed briefly as officials ran repairs on the net.

Medvedev was playing his first match since the ATP Finals in November after arriving in Australia late to be at home for the birth of his second child.

He pledged before the tournament to be a "disruptor" against the big guns this season, but his stuttering start against a player with no pedigree showed he has his work cut out.

"I play better when I play more tennis so I thought, 'Why play one hour 30, I need minimum three hours to feel my shots better'," he joked afterwards.

"But really, second and third set I couldn't touch the ball. I didn't know what to do.

"I watched his matches before and didn't see this level, so I was surprised."

The former world number one broke his opponent's opening service game and was never troubled in the first set, racing through it in 30 minutes.

But the Thai player, who qualified for his Grand Slam debut by winning the Asia-Pacific wildcard playoff event, refused to go away.

He stunned the Russian by breaking him at 5-4 to take the second and was well on top in the third before the Medvedev meltdown.

But the 28-year-old is a veteran of five-setters in Melbourne, contesting four and winning three last year, and he regrouped.

Medvedev used his experience to take charge in the fourth as Samrej began flagging and an early break in the fifth set put victory in sight.

Medvedev has reached three of the last four finals in Melbourne.

He was outplayed by Novak Djokovic in 2021 before a heart-wrenching defeat to Rafael Nadal a year later.

He imploded against Jannik Sinner last year, crashing in five sets after being two up.

I.Ko--ThChM