Melbourne [Australia], January 15 : The World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev scripted a fine comeback after being one set down to take the match to 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 1-0 after his opponent Terence Atmane retired due to an injury in the first round of the ongoing Australian Open on Monday.
The World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev sealed his place in the second round in Melbourne. Medvedev had a lucky break when qualifier Atmane, making his Grand Slam debut, retired in the middle of the match.
"When I started to feel tough physically he started cramping, so it was brutal conditions. I've been here for seven days and it hasn't been hot, and now it was hot for the first match. I was getting tired but many times in these situations the other guy is getting tired too and it's about who manages it better," Medvedev said as quoted by ATP.
The early part of the match followed a similar pattern, with the underdog putting up a valiant fight for the opening 15 minutes before Medvedev took a 2-1 lead. Things progressed as expected, with Medvedev serving for the set at 5-4. However, he played an error-prone game that began with a double fault and progressed from there to drop serve. He was subsequently broken for the second time in a row, surrendering the set.
Atmane leveraged Medvedev's deep-court returning stance to force him to start points well off-court, particularly on the ad court, where the 22-year-old played his left-handed slider effectively. He would then alternate between forays to the net and drop shots to keep Medvedev scrambling and working hard under the scorching Sun on Margaret Court Arena.
Medvedev held steady to tie the match at one set apiece, and it appeared like he was off to the races with an early break in the third, while the World No. 144's movement was getting progressively affected by cramping.
As Atmane's mobility deteriorated, the match came full circle when Medvedev started frequently dropping shots on him. Atmane shockingly retrieved a break for 2-all, but Medvedev pulled away again and was in complete control when the man known as 'the magician' retired in the second game of the fourth set.
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