New York [US], August 30 : Former champion Daniil Medvedev wasted little time in reaching the second round at the US Open, outplaying Hungarian Attila Balazs 6-1, 6-1, 6-0.
The third seed quickly found his range on Arthur Ashe Stadium to earn his 50th tour-level win of the season after a match that lasted for one hour and 16 minutes.
Keen to limit his Hungarian opponent's opportunities, Medvedev locked in from far behind the baseline. The World No. 3 faced no break points and made just 13 unforced errors to set up a second-round match against Christopher O'Connell.
"It is always good to start well. I am happy with my performance. I am looking forward to the next matches and to play for as long as possible in New York. I hope I can play better and better each match as each one is going to be more difficult," ATP quoted Medvedev as saying.
"I think at one moment I thought I had total control of the match, I tried to maybe work some shots. Even I felt I was playing better and better throughout the match, I was hitting stronger and more confident in my shots, so that was great," Medvedev said.
Medvedev, who is chasing his second Slam crown this fortnight, has lifted four tour-level trophies on hard courts this year.
"I won a lot of matches on Ashe. I don't think I have lost actually a lot. A lot of great matches... I feel like honestly every time I go on Ashe right now, I feel like the crowd is there for me. I honestly feel like New York loves me and that's very rare that I say something like this about the city (smiling). It's a great feeling, and I really always love coming back. Always excited to play there," Medvedev said.
Elsewhere, Andrey Rublev swept past Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-1 to snap a three-match losing streak.
In other action, Alexander Zverev moved past Aleksandar Vukic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to boost his ATP Finals qualification chances.
The 26-year-old, who reached the final in New York in 2020, won 86 per cent (50/58) of his first-serve points to advance after two hours and 11 minutes.
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