Daniil Medvedev faces a challenging start at the 2026 Australian Open.

Medvedev is positioned to accumulate many ranking points at the 2026 Australian Open due to his early elimination last year.

Former world No.1 Daniil Medvedev secured a straight-sets victory 3-0 (7-5; 6-2; 6-4) against Jesper De Jong in his opening match. 2026 Australian Open on the morning of January 19th, Vietnam time.

The first set was far from smooth for Medvedev; although the Russian player broke De Jong’s first service game early to take the lead, he quickly lost that advantage. Both players exchanged break points, and it seemed the set would be decided by a tie-break. However, De Jong lost a crucial break in the 11th game, and Medvedev capitalized perfectly to close the set 7-5.

The second set showcased the absolute dominance of the player who has reached the Australian Open final three times. He broke his opponent’s serve twice early on and brilliantly saved three break points to extend his lead to 4-0. No surprises followed, as "Meddy" took the set 6-2, building a commanding lead over De Jong.

The third set brought somewhat chaotic moments, similar to the first. De Jong had to fiercely defend four break points in the opening game but eventually succumbed to Medvedev’s intense pressure, falling behind 3-1.

Both players then held serve steadily, and it seemed Medvedev would quickly seal a 3-0 victory. However, the 1996-born player unexpectedly lost his serve in the deciding game, allowing De Jong to level at 5-5.

The former world No.1 responded swiftly, breaking back in the 11th game but then dropped the decisive service game again after a weak second serve, forcing a tie-break to decide the match. There, Medvedev completely dominated, winning 7-2 to confirm his victory after nearly three hours of intense play.

Against Jesper De Jong, who mainly competes at the Challenger level and performs best on clay courts, Medvedev showed his strength but did not deliver a fully convincing performance. Despite serving 9 aces, Medvedev committed 5 double faults and had only a 31% success rate on second serve points, facing 10 break points (saving 6). His unforced errors were almost equal to De Jong’s: 36 compared to 39.

Medvedev’s opponent in the second round of this year’s Australian Open will be Quentin Halys, who played impressively to eliminate Alejandro Tabilo in three sets.

Last season, Medvedev also lost in the second round after a very dramatic match against Learner Tien. Therefore, if he progresses deep into Melbourne Park this year, the world No.12 will accumulate a substantial number of points with hopes of returning to the ATP top 10.