Australian Open: Tsitsipas breezes past Hijikata, Medvedev downs homeboy Millman
Jan 18, 2023
Melbourne [Australia], January 18 : Stefanos Tsitsipas cruised through Australian wild card Rinky Hijikata 6-3, 6-0, 6-2 on Wednesday to advance swiftly to the third round of the Australian Open.
The three-time Melbourne semifinalist was in command for the entirety of the one-hour, 32-minute matchup with Hijikata. With his aggressive ball-striking, he consistently outmatched the World No. 169, hitting 30 winners on the Rod Laver Arena.
Tsitsipas averted all five break points he encountered, improving his season record to 6-0 by successfully driving his backhand into the court to force Hijikata into errors. The Greek tennis star was also solid on serve at crucial times. Tsitsipas will next run into either Tallon Griekspoor or Botic van de Zandschul
The 24-year-old is on the hunt for his first major championship this week. If the third seed in Melbourne is able to clinch the title, he would pass Carlos Alcaraz, who is injured, to capture the top spot in the ATP Rankings for the first time.
"It felt good out there. The ball was coming out of the racquet really well. I really enjoyed myself, I was great for the entire match. I always enjoy playing on the Rod Laver Arena, I have some good memories here," Tsitsipas said as quoted by ATPTour.com.
Daniil Medvedev defeated hometown favourite John Millman on Wednesday in Melbourne after overcoming initial serve woes, winning 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the third round of the first Grand Slam of the year.
With the victory, Medvedev reached the third round at Melbourne Park for the fifth consecutive year. The 26-year-old is attempting to become just the fourth man in the Open Era to reach three straight Australian Open finals. He reached the finals of the Australian Open in 2021, and 2022 and will look to pass the final hurdle this time around.
Medvedev will now clash with 29th seed Sebastian Korda, who trounced Japanese qualifier Yosuke Watanuki 6-2, 7-5, 6-4.
"I think it was a great match. Even the score in the second and third doesn't reflect everything that went on the court. First set he managed to break me three times. That's not that often that it happens, so I'm a little bit disappointed with myself, but he played amazingly. So big credit to John," said Medvedev as quoted by ATPTour.com.
