Image Credits - Sky Sports
Third seed Daniil Medvedev began his Adelaide International campaign with a win after Lorenzo Sonego retired while trailing 7-6 (8-6), 2-1.
The Italian tennis pro entered the match as the underdog against the 2021 US Open champion. However, Sonego fought hard and made Medvedev sweat for every point. After clinching a competitive first set, the former No. 1 took a 2-1 lead in the second set when Sonego pulled out of the match with leg cramps.
Sonego could have easily bagged the first set but Medvedev managed to save nine set points. In the second set, Medvedev recovered from an early break before the match came to an unfortunate end.
After the match, the Russian star took to Twitter and said that it wasn’t the way he would have liked to win. He also wished Sonego a speedy recovery.
“Never the way I want to win. Wishing Lorenzo a quick recovery.”
Medvedev’s wish was fulfilled quite quickly as Sonego recovered to play in the doubles event. He teamed with compatriot Jannik Sinner and defeated the Aussie duo of Alexei Popyrin and James Duckworth.
Daniil Medvedev survived a huge scare in the first round. The experienced campaigner will be hoping for a more convincing performance in the round of 16.
Daniil Medvedev will square off against Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic in the round of 16 on Wednesday. Kecmanovic defeated Christopher O’Connell in the round of 32 to get his campaign off to a good start.
Medvedev will be confident going into the match against Kecmanovic as he has a 2-0 record against the 23-year-old player.
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