MELBOURNE, Australia — At the end of the season, 2021 U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev is celebrating positive progress as he reaches the third round at the Australian Open.
His finish at the 2025 Grand Slams was his worst since his debut season in 2017 – in Australia, he lost first-round matches at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open after he smashed a tiny camera attached to the net in the first round while avoiding a huge upset.
He lost his cool in New York and was fined $42,500 by the US Open – more than a third of his $110,000 tournament prize – for losing his first-round match after a photographer wandered onto the court during the match.
In 2025, he won one title in 24 games (in October in Almaty, Kazakhstan) and reached only one other final. He holds 22 professional titles.
Not much for the three-time Australian Open runner-up.
So when he dropped the first set in his second-round match against French qualifier Quentin Harries on Wednesday, he had to mentally put it aside and start over.
“I think the performance could have been better, but a win is a win,” he said. “Last year in the majors, I struggled when people were playing nice to me.
“So I’m happy that I was able to win the game and turn the situation around… looking forward to the next few rounds.”
He has reached three Australian Open finals in four years but lost all of them, including the 2024 title to Jannik Sinner.
The 29-year-old Russian won the title in Brisbane this year and is now on a seven-match win streak in Australia. He has put 2025 behind him. The difference, he said, comes down to mentality.
When he regularly finished in the top five and went far in the majors, he always expected to win. Now he has learned to compartmentalize and can put failure — game, game or game — behind him.
“I fought successfully. I lost the match in the second period with a break – I mean, you saw the match. Why am I telling you that?” Medvedev said in an on-court interview on Wednesday. “He’s got a lot of fire on his forehand. He doesn’t miss a lot. He hits some unbelievable shots.
“This game was very tough mentally, but I’m glad (I could) dig deep and successfully win the game.”
He is looking forward to his next match against Hungary’s Fabian Marossan and is not thinking about anything more at the moment.
“I need to rebuild my confidence step by step,” he said. “Always, always keep the faith!”
