Daniil Medvedev survives, Andrey Rublev upset in Australian Open's first round

Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Daniil Medvedev ripped 24 aces and converted six break points to outlast Kasidit Samrej in a 3-hour, 8-minute first-round victory Tuesday at the 2025 Australian Open.

And No. 9 Andrey Rublev became the highest-ranked player -- so far -- to exit early through an upset at the first Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season.

"I'm happy that I managed to stay tough," Medvedev told reporters. "In my opinion, I didn't play a bad level. I played quite well. I'll try to play better and better throughout the tournament."

Medvedev, the No. 5 player in the ATP singles rankings, fired 48 winners and converted 6 of 13 break point opportunities in the 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory. The Russian logged 34 unforced errors, compared to his Thai counterpart's 69. Samrej, ranked No. 418, totaled four aces and 34 winners.

He converted just 2 of 6 break point opportunities.

Medvedev, who reached the finals in 2021, 2022 and 2024, but still seeks his first Australian Open crown, will meet No. 121 Learner Tien of the United States in the second round. The winner will play No. 69 Corentin Moutet of France or No. 146 Mitchell Krueger of the United States in the third round.

Medvedev could face No. 16 Frances Tiafoe of the United States in the fourth round if both players win their next two matches.

An 18-year-old Brazilian was responsible for ousting Rublev from Melbourne. No. 112 Joao Fonseca earned the biggest victory of his young career in the 2-hour, 23-minute match in Margaret Court Arena. He totaled 14 aces and 51 winners and converted 2 of 10 break point opportunities.

Rublev hit 13 aces and 33 winners. He converted just 1 of 6 break point chances. Fonseca will meet No. 55 Lorenzo Sonego of Italy in the second round. The winner will face Tiafoe or No. 59 Fabian Marozsan of Hungary in the third round.

No. 4 Taylor Fritz of the United States, No. 8 Alex de Minaur of Australia, No. 13 Holger Rune of Denmark, No. 15 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, No. 17 Hubert Hurkacz of Poland and No. 20 Ben Shelton of the United States were among the other top men to advance on Day 3 of the Grand Slam.

No. 4 Jasmine Paolini of Italy, No. 7 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, No. 8 Emma Navarro of the United States, No. 10 Daria Kasatkina of Russia, No. 14 Madison Keys of the United States and No. 17 Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil were the top women to advance.

No. 30 Maria Sakkari of Greece was another upset victim. She lost in three sets to No. 59 Camila Osorio of Colombia.

No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, No. 5 Zheng Qinwen of China, No. 7 Jessica Pegula of the United States and Naomi Osaka of Japan will be among the top women in action in second-round matches Wednesday in Melbourne.

No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, No. 7 Novak Djokovic of Serbia and No. 11 Tommy Paul of the United States will be among the to players competing in men's matches.

Australian Open coverage will continue Tuesday night in the United States, with local time in Melbourne 16 hours ahead of the EDT. That coverage will start at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and 9 p.m. on ESPN2.