Daniil Medvedev had to overcome a nosebleed to progress to the Australian Open third round this morning.
The No 4 seed is expected to be the closest challenger to Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic’s title campaign in Melbourne.
And he cruised into the third round with a commanding 7-5, 6-1, 6-3 win over Spaniard Pedro Martinez on Margaret Court Arena.
The Russian was tested in his opening clash as he needed four sets to edge out Frances Tiafoe – and he was made to battle this time out too.
World No 168 Martinez played way above his rankined and produced some brilliant patterns of play but Medvedev was equal to everything he had to offer.
Even a random nosebleed late in the second set did not derail the US Open finalist as he won six games in a row.
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“I had to stay in the match and try to push him all the time. He payed well today.”
Medvedev had never met Martinez on the ATP tour but he does remember a clash they had in the juniors.
“Honestly I played him in Roland Garros juniors so it was also a Slam,” Medvedev added.
“I know him from juniors but haven’t played him for four years.
“It was tough because I didn’t know if he was bad on the forehand, backhand, where he likes to serve. The top 50 players know everything about each other but this was difficult.”
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