US Open: Daniil Medvedev advances to second round without drama

Russia’s Daniil Medvedev follows through on a return to France’s Hugo Gaston during the men’s singles first round tennis match on day one of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on August 30, 2026. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

One year on from a spectacular first-round meltdown, former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev made his way serenely into the second round at Flushing Meadows on Sunday.

The seventh-seeded Russian needed two hours and 14 minutes to ease past French qualifier Hugo Gaston 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 and pronounced himself pleased with his progress since a first-round loss to Martin Damm in Winston-Salem last week.

During that match, the mercurial Medvedev was heard to wonder whether he should drop tennis and take up pickleball — a possibility he was asked about in his on-court interview.

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“Last couple of weeks were not easy, but you know how it is — sometimes you lose matches, sometimes you win,” he said. “I’m happy that today I managed to produce a high level of tennis.

“I felt like I did everything I wanted to do well. I finished the match strong. I started the match strong. I’m really glad the way I played.”

It was a far cry from last year’s US Open, when Medvedev lost his cool in a first-round loss to France’s Benjamin Bonzi, erupting in the third set when a photographer’s mistaken foray onto the court prompted chair umpire Greg Allensworth to award Bonzi a first serve.

Medvedev complained bitterly, urging the crowd to back him, and after finally falling in five sets he violently smashed his racquet.

The outburst earned him a $42,500 fine and Medvedev subsequently split with his coach.