Medvedev destroys racket, survives Thai opponent

MELBOURNE – Last year’s runner-up Daniil Medvedev smashed his racket and avoided a huge shock at the Australian Open on Tuesday before joining a rampant Taylor Fritz and veteran Gael Monfils in the second round.

In the women’s draw, Elena Rybakina, Emma Navarro and Emma Raducanu were early winners on Day 3 in Melbourne.

The feisty Medvedev, a three-time losing finalist at Melbourne Park including a year ago to Jannik Sinner, was heavy favorite against Thailand’s 418th-ranked Kasidit Samrej.

But in his first match of the season, the Russian fifth seed nearly imploded in a fit of anger before finding some measure of calm.

“Second and third set I couldn’t touch the ball. I didn’t know what to do,” Medvedev said after finally winning 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena.

The 28-year-old mangled his racket as he spectacularly lost his temper in the third set, slamming it into the net camera repeatedly until they both became a broken mess.

Ball kids had to sweep up the debris when he lost the game and set, while the match was postponed briefly as officials ran repairs on the net.

Medvedev is facing a big penalty.

“Honestly, I hope not too big. The fine is usually for breaking the racquet, and the camera is going to cost some, but I don’t think GoPro is that expensive,” he said.

There was no such trouble for fourth seed Fritz as he blitzed fellow American Jenson Brooksby 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 to launch his bid for a maiden Grand Slam crown.

In the women’s draw, former Wimbledon champion Rybakina dished out a harsh tennis lesson to 16-year-old Emerson Jones, winning 6-1, 6-1.

The 2021 US Open champion Raducanu got off to a solid start with a 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/2) win against 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova from Russia.