Tuesday 29 / April / 2025
New York : 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.
Yop seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain advanced to the second round of the 2023 US Open after Dominik Koepfer retired in the second set of their matchup at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
In the opening game, the German World No. 75 unfortunately twisted his ankle just six points into the match, while moving backwards as a stroke by Alcaraz sailed over the baseline.
The 29-year-old sought treatment at the end of the first game and persevered until the middle of the second set when the discomfort became intolerable.
Koepfer fought hard to win two games in each of the first two sets, but ultimately retired with Alcaraz leading, 6-2, 3-2. Alcaraz will next meet South African Lloyd Harris.
"It was a shame for him in the first game, he got injured with the ankle. Obviously, that's not the best way to get through to another round. But I have to say for myself that I was playing great, I was playing really well on the court. Hopefully, I can keep the same level in the next round," US Open quoted Alcaraz as saying in a post-match presentation.
As Koepfer increased his aggression in an effort to shorten points, Alcaraz fought off two early break points. The German withdrew after winning four straight points on serve in the second set because he realised his strategy could only be sustained for a short period of time.
Alcaraz continues his love affair with the biggest stadium in tennis, the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"This is a court that I love playing in. Since the first step on the court [tonight] I felt great, I felt amazing—the same energy that I felt last year. It was a great start to the match and I think I played and I felt really well during the match," the 20-year-old was quoted as saying by US Open.
Earlier, Italian Jannik Sinner dropped just five games in a commanding 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 win over German Yannick Hanfmann.
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.
