LONDON: The World No.3 Daniil Medvedev enthralled Court 1 crowd with his aggressive intent and highly professional display against Grand Slam debutant Arthur Fery, where the third seed downed Briton to register a 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 victory over in the first round of the ongoing Wimbledon 2023.
On Court 1, Medvedev delivered an extremely professional performance against Grand Slam rookie Fery. The World No. 3 displayed accurate returning from deep and was eventually too consistent for Fery, converting six of his 12 break points in a match that was halted for 30 minutes by rain at 5-5 in the first set.
“[I was] pretty nervous,” said Medvedev in his on-court interview as quoted by ATP.com.
“I didn’t play here for two years and yesterday we didn’t get to play [due to rain], so it was a little bit hectic for everyone, for the supporters and the players. Back at Court 1, where I have the most wins in my Wimbledon career, so probably my favourite court so far,” he added.
“[I was] really happy for the very nice welcome and especially against Arthur, who is from Great Britain,” Medvedev said.
Fery had a strong start to his tour-level debut, winning his first eight points on service and demonstrating aggressive intent by stepping into court early to take Medvedev’s second serves. Medvedev’s rasping cross-court return winner in the fifth game, though, was the catalyst for more pressure on Fery’s delivery, and the 20-time tour-level champion went on to break twice in each of the three sets.
“I just said ‘Good luck in your career’, because his career is only just starting,” said Medvedev, when asked about his exchange of words with his young opponent after match point.
“It was his first main draw at a Grand Slam. There is a long way to go if he wants to be at the top but it was a good match. I think in tennis we have maybe 500 players and then juniors always coming up that can play well. Then it’s whoever can go higher than the other 499, so it’s a tough challenge, like in any other sport, and I hope he does well later,” said the World No.3.
With his two-hour, 11-minute victory, Medvedev advanced to a second-round clash against Adrian Mannarino or Alexander Shevchenko. (ANI)