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The 26-year-old falls to No. 12 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings
Daniil Medvedev was aiming for his second major title and first Down Under this fortnight. Instead, he will leave the Australian Open with disappointment for a third straight year.

After almost tasting victory a year ago in Melbourne, before Rafael Nadal’s epic comeback, Medvedev won’t see the second week of this year’s tournament after Sebastian Korda upset the seventh seed 7-6(7), 6-3, 7-6(4) on Friday.

Despite the disappointment of an early round straight-sets defeat, Medvedev gave a clear cut answer explaining the loss.

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“I think it was a match where he was just better than me,” Medvedev said in his post-match press conference. “Right now I'm struggling a little bit to win these kinds of matches against opponents that can play at a good level. That's what I have to find back.”

Nearly 11 months ago, Medvedev rose to World No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings shortly after finishing runner-up at the 2022 Australian Open. This year’s result in Melbourne means a far different outcome for Medvedev’s ranking. Friday’s third-round defeat means the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals champion will crash out of the Top 10 for the first time since July 2019.

Despite not getting past the fourth round in his past three Slam appearances (Australian Open, US Open, Roland Garros) and collecting just two Tour-level titles in 2022 (Los Cabos, Vienna), Medvedev is hungry to find answers to help lift him towards contending for the game’s most prestigious titles again. The 26-year-old also suffered a trio of tight three-set defeats at the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals. But he’s not giving up hope.

“My shots are there, I'm doing the right thing,” Medvedev said. “Today was a little bit different where he was on top of me all the time and I was trying to come back every set, trying to fight, trying to be there.


“That's why tennis is so tough because in the Top 30 everyone can beat everybody. Of course, the Top 10 are more consistent, and that's why I'm dropping down a little bit now but everyone can beat everybody.”

Although Medvedev had won his previous meeting with Korda at the 2021 Rolex Paris Masters, the American brought a different level today, firing his all-court game from every corner of the court. The 22-year-old produced consistent depth and often worked his way forward to test Medvedev’s deep court positioning.

Medvedev isn’t the only one to notice great potential in the young American Korda. In the first week of the season, Novak Djokovic fended off a championship point to defeat the Florida native and win the Adelaide International 1. The 92-time Tour-level titlist said Korda has, ‘beautiful-looking tennis’. The 2021 US Open champion Medvedev also praised Korda following their contest on Rod Laver Arena, revealing that his style of play reminds him of the man who beat Korda in Adelaide a couple weeks ago.

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“The most difficult thing is that he hits the ball very strong. Probably one of the strongest hitters,” Medvedev said. “Also takes [the ball] very early. There are some other guys playing like this, but they miss more than him. And he didn't miss that much.

“His game is kind of different from everybody because he’s very aggressive and takes the ball very early. A little bit maybe like Novak.”

Medevdev, who drops to No. 12 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, was aiming to become the fourth man in the Open Era to reach three consecutive Australian Open finals. The 15-time Tour-level titlist will instead have a few weeks off from competition before his next event, the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam, which runs from 13-19 February.

Sixth seed meets van de Zandschulp or Halys next
In his first competitive action since the Australian Open, Daniil Medvedev battled back from a set down to defeat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Tuesday night at the ABN AMRO Open. The sixth seed earned a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory, turning the match around by winning nine of 10 games after falling behind 0-1 in the second set.

"I just managed to play a little bit better," Medvedev said of the turnaround. "I don't want to say that I played much better, but a little bit better, managed to use the crucial opportunities a little bit better and I feel like he was missing a bit more than in the first set.

"All together, I feel like I changed just a few millimetres of tactics, if we can say like this," he added, later explaining that he varied his position on return, including moving closer to the baseline on second serves. "All of this happened to work, so I'm really happy about it."


Medvedev converted on eight of 16 break chances, with Davidovich Fokina breaking six times from 11 opportunities in a topsy-turvy match. Four straight breaks closed the opening set, with Davidovich Fokina claiming his sixth set point in a marathon Medvedev service game to edge in front.

After finding his best tennis in the second set, hitting 14 winners to just three unforced errors, Medvedev stayed steady in the deciding set in the face of his opponent's aggressive tactics. While Davidovich Fokina earned two breaks with his big ground game, unforced errors prevented him from holding serve in the set as Medvedev locked in on return.

"That's my game," Medvedev said of his steady play. "When I miss, that's not very good. I don't know what else to say. I've had some matches where I struggled when I missed."

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Medvedev improved to 6-2 on the season, with runs to the Australian Open third round and the Adelaide International 1 semi-finals in his first two events. He will next face Botic van de Zandschulp or Quentin Halys, with third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime a potential quarter-final opponent.