Australian Open fifth seed Daniil Medvedev had a challenging start to his Australian Open campaign on Tuesday. During his first round match against Kasidit Samrej, Medvedev displayed frustration by damaging a net camera at the end of the third set.
Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion and a three-time Australian Open finalist, faced a tough opponent in Samrej. The wildcard entry from Thailand, ranked 418th, was making his Grand Slam debut.
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The incident occurred in the final game of the third set. After losing a point, Medvedev approached the net and repeatedly struck a small camera with his racket.
The camera shattered, sending pieces flying. Medvedev subsequently received a warning from the chair umpire for his actions.
Losing the third set put Medvedev in a difficult position. He needed to rally to avoid an unexpected first-round exit in the 2025 season.
Meanwhile, Samrej had the opportunity to achieve a significant upset. He was aiming to become the lowest-ranked player to defeat a top-five seed at a Grand Slam since the ATP’s computerised rankings began in 1973, according to the International Tennis Federation.
The record for such an upset belongs to Alex Kim. The American, ranked 234th, defeated fourth-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov at the 2002 Australian Open.
Samrej secured his spot in the Australian Open draw through a wildcard playoff. He won four rounds in the Asia-Pacific region in November. Prior to facing Medvedev, he had never played against an opponent ranked higher than 78th. He had also never defeated a player ranked higher than 157th.
Despite Samrej’s battling show, physical issues meant his tennis dropped while Medvedev was able to escape with a five-set win. The Russian eventually won 6-2, 4-6 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 to avoid becoming the first runner-up from the previous year to suffer a first-round exit at the Australian Open since Rainer Schuttler in 2004.
