MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Daniil Medvedev launched his bid for a maiden Australian Open title on Tuesday with a 6-1 6-4 7-6(3) romp over Swiss battler Henri Laaksonen.
U.S. Open champion Medvedev, favorite to win at Melbourne Park within the wake of Novak Djokovic’s deportation, was in cruise management for 2 units in opposition to world quantity 91 Laaksonen earlier than being dragged into a correct dog-fight within the third set.
Finland-born Laaksonen produced scintillating tennis to communicate with Medvedev within the tiebreak earlier than faltering with a pair of unforced errors that gave the Russian three match factors.
Medvedev sealed the win on the primary of them and can play the winner of Nick Kyrgios and Liam Broady for a spot within the third round.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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