In contention for 1st Grand Slam title: Russia’s Medvedev advances to second round of Australian Open 2020

Russian tennis ace Daniil Medvedev has opened his Australian Open campaign in style beating US player Frances Tiafoe in four exhaustive sets 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to make it into the second round of the season-opening major.

The fourth-seed Medvedev got off to a brilliant start showing solid tennis in the match-opener which he won 6-3.

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In the beginning of the second set both players confidently held their serve until Frances Tiafoe made a crucial break to take a 5-4 lead. Medvedev’s efforts to save the set fell short as the American player nailed a 6-4 win to level the score in the match.

Despite stumbling in the second set, Medvedev pulled himself together, demonstrating solid tennis in the next two sets with power and precision to which his opponent had no answer.

The 2019 US Open finalist immediately broke Tiafoe to make it 2-0. Medvedev, the highest ranked of the Russian players, had trouble on his own serve, but his deadly first serve helped him to save several break points and extend his lead to a 3-0 advantage.

The seemingly solid lead was quickly squandered after Tiafoe returned the break to tie the game at 3-3.

However, the 23-year-old Russian produced a dominant performance at the end of the set when he left his American counterpart without any chance of breaking him.

Medvedev extended his winning streak in the next set with much more ease, winning by the score line of 6-2 to book a spot in the second round of the Australian Open.