‘Court 1 king’ Medvedev eases past Kovacevic in Wimbledon opener

Daniil Medvedev returned to his Wimbledon ‘happy place’ in style on Monday afternoon.

The fifth seed dispatched Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in his first-round match at the grass-court major, where he is aiming to better his semi-final run from 2023. Medvedev converted four of eight break points he earned against the No. 88-ranked Kovacevic to maintain his perfect record on the All England Club’s No. 1 Court.

“It was a great match, to be honest,” said Medvedev. “The first match is never easy and there were moments in the match when it was not as easy as the score would suggest. So I’m really happy with my level and I’ve still never lost on Court 1, so hopefully I can play a lot more matches on this court.”

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A straightforward victory for @DaniilMedwed 6-3 6-4 6-2 against Kovacevic!@Wimbledon | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/G1d1nouvIn

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 1, 2024

The 20-time tour-level champion Medvedev is now 6-0 in first-round matches at Wimbledon, but it was his other perfect SW19 record he was more eager to discuss in his post-match interview.

“I played maybe nine or 10 matches here [on No. 1 Court] and I’ve never lost. I said it last year before the semis, it’s unfortunate that I have to go to Centre Court, and I lost,” joked Medvedev. “This year I got lucky, I managed to practise on Centre before the tournament, so maybe it can give me some edge after, but for the moment I want to play on Court No. 1, enjoy it, and try to win.”

The No. 5 in the PIF ATP Rankings will next take on Alexandre Muller, a 6-4, 7-6(2), 7-6(5) winner against qualifier Hugo Gaston, in London. He will hope to handle any tough moments as calmly as he did against Kovacevic — Medvedev crucially converted the only break point of the second set to assume control of the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash.

“That’s why Grand Slam matches are tough,” said Medvedev. “It’s never easy to win in straight sets because you need to win three, rather than two sets. Especially on grass, where serve has such a big impact. He was serving well.

“If I remember correctly, I only had one game where I had a real chance [in the second set]. I got a little bit lucky, but I managed to make a very good return, a winner off his first serve. I’m happy with how I managed to stay stable throughout the whole match. I never lost my serve and I’m looking forward to the next round.”

Should Medvedev reach the third round, he would face 32nd seed Zhang Zhizhen or Jan-Lennard Struff. Zhang defeated French qualifier Maxime Janvier 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-2 in his opening match, while Struff downed Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3.