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Former world no. 1 Daniil Medvedev got his first win at the Australian Open opener after a 370-day winless run at the Grand Slams. Daniil Medvedev overcame the Melbourne heat to defeat Netherlands player Jesper de Jong in the first round of the Australian Open.

Notably, this win came after a difficult run that had seen him struggle in consecutive opening-round exits at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open in 2025. This slump had come in after a second-round loss to Learner Tien at last year's Australian Open.

Following his opening round victory, Medvedev spoke to the press, where he was asked if he would be able to take on Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the ongoing tournament.

Daniil Medvedev On The Possibility Of Facing Carlos Alcaraz And Jannik Sinner

The Russian player acknowledged that the duo was two of the best players in tennis currently and said that, despite that, anybody can beat anybody in tennis on a good day. Additionally, he also confessed that if he played 20 matches against them, he would probably lose too many of them, but would give his best in every match.

Medvedev shared, "Out of 10 matches, you can win some. I won't specify an amount, but you can win. They can have a slightly off day. I beat both of them in Grand Slams in different tournaments. I aim to be consistent because last year was bad for me. I couldn't face them because they were always in the final, and I would lose early. I didn't even play against them."

He further continued, "For me, it's important to stand firm, play well, and reach the stage where I face them. They're usually in the quarterfinals or semifinals. Then I'd be happy to accept this challenge. But I repeat, they are the two best players in the world. Probably right now, there is no one who can challenge them regularly. But in one match, they can always lose. Anyone can beat them at some point."

Medvedev Advances To Next Round

The player would be looking forward to build in a momentum after his recent title win in Brisbane. Against De Jong, after a scrappy start, Medvedev surged 4-0 in the second set after capitalising on De Jong's errors.