Tag: Daniil Medvedev

Former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev suffered a shock first-round defeat at Wimbledon at the hands of France’s Benjamin Bonzi.

Medvedev had reached the Wimbledon semi-finals for the past two years, but the Russian’s bid for another strong run at the All England Club came to an abrupt end  on Monday at the hands of the world number 64.

Bonzi beat ninth-seeded Medvedev 7-6 (7⁄2), 3-6, 7-6 (7⁄3), 6-2 in three hours and seven minutes in sweltering conditions on Court Two.

It was the first time in seven Wimbledon appearances that Medvedev has failed to advance past the opening round.

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Medvedev, a six-time Grand Slam finalist, has endured a dismal year at the majors, losing in the Australian Open second round and French Open first round before his Wimbledon flop.

The 29-year-old, who won the US Open in 2021, defeated top seeded Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon quarter-finals last year before losing to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals.

“This is my first top-10 win at a Slam. Obviously, it is always special at this tournament,” Bonzi said.

 “I love this place, so it’s very special and Daniil is a great player. He has reached two semi-finals here.

 “I knew it was a tough match, but sometimes it is better to play this kind of player in the first round. Anything can happen, so I’m very happy with the win.”

Former champion Daniil Medvedev brushed aside ATP Finals debutant Alex de Minaur to bounce back from an opening defeat and boost his hopes of making the knock-out phase.

The Russian, who lost his first group-stage match to Taylor Fritz, overpowered De Minaur in Turin to win 6-2, 6-4 and leave his opponent on the brink of elimination.

Australian De Minaur will be knocked out with a match to spare if the other tie in the Ilie Nastase Group between Jannik Sinner and Fritz goes to three sets later on Tuesday.

Medvedev, who lifted the title in 2020, did not face a single break point and broke De Minaur’s serve three times.

The fourth seed will next face world number one and title favourite Sinner on Thursday.

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 “I decided not to care about it in a good way,” Medvedev said. “If I lose, the season is over, if I win I have another chance on Thursday… I’ll try and do the same the next match, so I don’t care.”

Both players battled to holds in their opening service games but Medvedev broke for a 2-1 lead and never looked back.

He struck 16 winners in the first set and then lost just two points behind his serve in the second.

A break in the ninth game of the second set proved decisive and he closed out victory with another comfortable hold.