Fifth seed and multiple Australian Open finalist Daniil Medvedev smashed his racquet in an epic meltdown in his first-round match on Tuesday. Medvedev threatened to be on the wrong side of the biggest upsets in tennis history before regrouping to beat Thai wildcard and world No.418 Kasidit Samrej 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in just over three hours.

Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev was at his inimitable best when he praised Kasidit Samrej, who dragged the Russian to five sets in their opening-round clash on Tuesday, January 14.

Daniil Medvedev praised his Australian Open first round opponent Kasidit Samrej after being stretched to five sets by the 418th-ranked Thai wildcard before winning 6-2 4-6 3-6 6-1 6-2 on Tuesday.

Medvedev, who lost to Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the back-to-back finals in 2021 and 2022, respectively, and then to Jannik Sinner last year, took the first set against his Samrej 6-2

Daniil Medvedev used his racket to smash a camera attached to the net during a tricky opening round win at this year’s Australian Open.

Daniil Medvedev has used his racket to smash a tiny camera attached to the net at the Australian Open while he was trailing in his first-round match in the main stadium.

Daniil Medvedev earns code violation for racket abuse before rallying past wild card entrant; Taylor Fritz carries U.S. banner forward.

Daniil Medvedev used his racket to smash a tiny camera attached to the net at the Australian Open while he was trailing Kasidit Samrej, the 418th-ranked player in the world, before eventually avoiding a monumental upset and winning 6-2,