Racket-smashing Daniil Medvedev survives Australian Open fright

MELBOURNE – Daniil Medvedev faces a hefty fine after mangling his racket and a net camera in an epic temper tantrum before battling through a five-set roller coaster to start his Australian Open on Jan 14.

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

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

Ball kids had to sweep up the debris when the 28-year-old lost the game and set, while the match was postponed briefly as officials ran repairs on the net.

Medvedev is facing a big penalty.

“Honestly, I hope not too big. The fine is usually for breaking the racket, and the camera is going to cost some, but I don’t think GoPro is that expensive,” he said.

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 that he has his work cut out.

“I play better when I play more tennis so I thought, ‘Why play 1hr 30min, 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 No. 1 broke his opponent’s opening service game and was never troubled in the first set, racing through it in 30 minutes. However, Kasidit, nicknamed “Boom” in his country and who qualified for his Grand Slam debut by winning the Asia-Pacific wild card play-off event, refused to go away.

He stunned Medvedev by breaking him at 5-4 to take the second, and was on top in the third before the meltdown. But the latter is a veteran of five-setters in Melbourne, contesting four and winning three last season, and he regrouped.

The Russian used his experience to take charge in the fourth as Kasidit began flagging, and an early break in the fifth set put victory in sight.

Medvedev is aiming to finally win in Melbourne. He was outplayed by Novak Djokovic in the 2021 final before a heart-wrenching defeat by Rafael Nadal a year later. He imploded against Jannik Sinner in 2024, crashing in five sets after being two up.

Earlier, Taylor Fritz said he was “very confident” about making a Grand Slam breakthrough after dropping just five games to blitz into the second round.

The world No. 4 wasted little energy to swat aside fellow American Jenson Brooksby, who is on the way back from a doping suspension, 6-2, 6-0, 6-3.

“I think the general goal right now is to have just big results at the big tournaments. I would like to win a big title this year,” said Fritz, fresh from helping the United States win the United Cup.

“I really want to be in another Slam final – the goal is to win – but just another opportunity at winning a Slam.”

Meanwhile, Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca launched his Grand Slam career in spectacular fashion as the qualifier took down Russian ninth seed Andrey Rublev 7-6 (7-1), 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).

In the women’s draw, a rusty Emma Raducanu said her serve felt like it had “a mind of its own” at times as the Briton racked up 15 double faults in a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2) victory over Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova.

“Honestly, I’m not sure what I changed in my serve today. I’ll be sure to reflect,” the 2021 US Open champion said.

“In the first set, I was hitting a lot of good first serves. I hit a few aces. At the same time, I was hitting a double fault. As the balls got heavier, it was a lot more difficult. As more kept coming, it wasn’t easy to refocus, but I knew even if I was down, I have great returns.”

Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, dished out a harsh tennis lesson to Australian teenager Emerson Jones, also racing into the second round with a 6-1, 6-1 win.

Jasmine Paolini underlined her title credentials with an almost flawless match.

She inflicted a dreaded “bagel” on Chinese qualifier Wei Sijia, who was making her Grand Slam debut, as the Italian sprinted to a 6-0, 6-4 victory on Margaret Court Arena. AFP, REUTERS