Without problems and unnecessary pressure: how Medvedev took the first step to defend the title at the US Open

Daniil Medvedev successfully started his title defense at the US Open.

As rivals at the start of the tournament, he got an American with Russian roots, not very well known to the general public, Stefan Kozlov.

His family emigrated to the US when the boy was one year old.

The 24-year-old athlete is coached by father Andrey Kozlov, who has his own tennis academy in Pembroke Pines.

Stefan showed great promise at the junior level: twice reached the final of the Grand Slam tournaments, twice reached the quarterfinals.

But in adult tennis, the American got a little lost, which is clearly evidenced by the fact that he only managed to break into the main draw of the Majors for only the third time.

The Russian, as the current champion, was given the right to open the tournament on the center court named after Arthur Ashe.

The meeting was scheduled for the middle of the day, and the game of tennis players was affected by the hot and humid weather that continues in New York.

Daniel, in particular, admitted that it was not easy for him and he had to sweat a lot, both literally and figuratively.

The beginning of the match turned out to be a bit nervous for both.

Athletes looked at each other a little, because after junior tournaments they never met on the court.

Medvedev quickly made a break and led 2-1, but immediately lost his serve.

Kozlov failed to take advantage of the misfire of the first racket and lost the set, giving up the next four games.

The most stubborn struggle unfolded in the second installment.

Daniil did not have a good first serve, which allowed the opponent to draw him into long draws, which did not always go in favor of the Russian.

With the score 3:3, Medvedev nevertheless made a break, but Stefan immediately bounced back.

Nevertheless, the next two games - and a set - were left for the first racket of the world.

In the third set, the American's affairs were going really badly.

He hit the first ball quite consistently (68%), but could not extract at least some dividends from this.

For the entire set, Stefan managed to win only one draw due to his own active actions against Medvedev's 13 and naturally got the "steering wheel".

After the match, the Russian admitted that he was quite pleased with his game at the start of the tournament and the result in particular. 

“The first match is always difficult.

At first glance, it may, of course, seem that Stefan's stroke is not outstanding, but he is close to getting into the top 100 best tennis players.

He's a great player, I've known him since junior games.

It's never easy to beat him, and I'm glad I was able to find the right rhythm today.

It seems to me that I served well, and my blows were nothing.

There were some unforced errors, but I especially want to note the third set - I spent it best of all.

I am quite pleased with the result and the match itself, too, ”Daniil said at a press conference.

He also admitted that he does not feel any additional pressure to defend the title, but simply has fond memories of a successful performance last year.

“Probably the only pressure factor is the understanding that if for some reason I can’t play well here, people can say:“ Oh, the defending champion lost, ”and stuff like that.

I'm not very receptive to this.

I know what I must do.

I know that I want to play well.

And if I can’t, then I won’t worry about the fact that I won a year earlier - I’ll just be upset that it didn’t work out this year, ”the tennis player shared.

According to Medvedev, he is given confidence by the fact that in New York he has always managed to demonstrate a good game.

“I remember last year there were some crazy matches.

To be honest, they were all events of a very high level for me.

I want it to continue this year as well.

I always liked to play at the US Open, so this year I want to do it with pleasure, ”concluded the Russian.

Daniil's next opponent will be the Frenchman Arthur Rinderknesh.

Meanwhile, Medvedev's path to the final was greatly simplified after the very first round, as six seeded players flew out of his half of the grid at once.

The most sensational was the defeat of the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas from the Colombian qualifier Daniel-Elai Galan in four games - 0:6, 1:6, 6:3, 5:7.

As noted by the fifth racket of the world, the opponent dominated throughout the match, and he himself did not manage to fully enter the game.

In addition, Americans Taylor Fritz (10th seed) and Maxim Cressy (30), Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut (16), Argentine Francisco Serundolo (24), Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili (31) were left out of the competition.

Thus, the Australian Nick Kyrgios remains the most formidable potential rival of the Russian until the quarterfinals, who dealt with compatriot Tanasi Kokkinakis at the start of the tournament without any problems.

“Before Kiryos, he has a fairly friendly grid, up to the third round, inclusive.

And then you have to look.

Who will be physically loaded, how intense the matches will be in the middle of the week.

Physical condition climbs to one of the main places closer to the second week, ”said Shamil Tarpishchev, president of the Russian Tennis Federation, on this occasion.