Medvedev, a two-time finalist, is eliminated by Sebastian Korda.
At the Australian Open on Friday, two-time runner-up Daniil Medvedev was stunned by Sebastian Korda, adding the Russian to the growing list of top seeds who were eliminated early.
Petr Korda’s son, the 31st-ranked American, defeated the seventh seed on Rod Laver Arena, 7-6 (9/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to advance to the round of 16.
The upset by Korda set up a match with Polish 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz, who defeated Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals.
The 22-year-old Korda stated, “An unbelievable match, I sort of knew what I had to do and I stuck with it even when I was going up and down with the emotions,” adding that his strategy was to “just go for it.”
“I’m so happy right now, I played amazing,” she said.
Medvedev lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2021 final of the Australian Open and to Rafael Nadal in a demoralizing five-set defeat 12 months later after leading by two sets.
He wanted to become the fourth man since Djokovic, Mats Wilander, and Ivan Lendl to reach three Melbourne Park finals in a row during the Open era.
He now joins defending champion Rafael Nadal, second-seeded Casper Ruud, and eighth-seeded Taylor Fritz as notable early-week losers at the season’s opening Grand Slam.
Djokovic admitted on Thursday that he was “worried” that his hamstring injury could derail his tournament, despite the fact that he is still in the running for a tenth title.
In the Adelaide International final this month, Korda demonstrated his credentials by pushing Djokovic to the brink and earning a championship point before the Serb rallied to win in three close sets.
Before meeting Medvedev, the former world number one, the Florida native bounced back with victories over Yosuke Watanuki and Cristian Garin in Melbourne.
Korda got off to a fast start, scoring four break points in the first 11 minutes of the game before scoring one to take an early lead.
Before Korda won 2-0, the Russian received minor treatment to his right hand at the changeover.
The Russian roared back with two breaks to level the match at 4-4, but the American won some lung-busting rallies from the baseline and broke again to make it 4-1.
After an 85-minute slugfest, it went to a thrilling tiebreak with Korda winning his third set point.
Medvedev was unable to respond when Korda, coached by former Czech star Radek Stepanek, broke early once more in the second set.
He started the third in the same way and broke right away as the Russian withered under the assault.
Medvedev rallied once more and won a tiebreak before withdrawing from the tournament for the first time since 2018.
