MELBOURNE, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Daniil Medvedev was looking forward to plunging into an ice bath on Monday after the former world number one overcame the Melbourne heat and serving issues to beat Jesper de Jong 7-5 6-2 7-6(2) in the first round of the Australian Open.
The 11th-seeded Russian, fresh off a title win in Brisbane, came out on top after a topsy-turvy opening set that featured five breaks of serve as both players struggled with their delivery on Margaret Court Arena.
"The conditions felt slow, so we were both breaking each other's serve a lot," said Medvedev, who has finished runner-up three times at Melbourne Park.
"It is warm, but I felt okay and I think then he was probably struggling a tiny bit more than me... Hopefully it doesn't get worse than what we felt here. For sure, a bit of an ice bath never feels bad after such a warm match."
Medvedev broke at 5-5 before serving out the opening set, clinching it with an emphatic backhand winner just before the hour-mark.
If the opening set was a roller-coaster, the second set was one-way traffic as Medvedev raced into a 4-0 lead through relentless pressure, mixing forehand and backhand winners as he capitalised on De Jong’s frequent errors.
Despite moments of resistance from De Jong, Medvedev turned up the aggression at key points which saw him surge ahead while the Russian toyed with his opponent at the net as he cruised into a 2-0 lead in the match.
"When I play good I am actually aggressive and when I play bad ... I become a bit more defensive," Medvedev said.
"He was also far behind the baseline. Many times I managed to move him around and even finish at the net. Some moments I could have maybe been a bit more clinical.
"First round is never easy, so hopefully I can be more clinical in the next rounds."
The third set looked to be heading for a routine conclusion after Medvedev broke early, but he paid a price for taking his foot off the gas when serving for the match at 5-4.
Two double faults allowed De Jong to level and eventually force a tiebreak, leaving the Russian fuming.
However, he made no mistake in the tiebreak, sealing victory with a sensational forehand winner from the corner of the court that even drew applause from his defeated opponent.
Medvedev plays Frenchman Quentin Halys in the second round.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
