The second round of singles matches at Wimbledon began on Wednesday, July 3. In the men’s draw, the winner of the 2021 US Open, Daniil Medvedev, the fifth seed, played his match. The first Russian player took to the court with the 27-year-old French tennis player Alexandre Muller, the 102nd ranked player in the world. Medvedev defeated the American Alexander Kovacevich in three sets in the first round (6:3, 6:4, 6:2), and Muller eliminated his compatriot Hugo Gaston (Q), also in three games: 6:4, 7:6. 7:6.
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After winning the first round, Daniil said he intended to go far in the tournament. “More confidence in the sense that my level on grass is higher than on clay. I did very well at Wimbledon last year. I feel great and I am looking forward to it. We must continue with the same spirit. I know the road will not be easy. But I will try to go all the way,” he said at a press conference.
Read the full press conference here:
“I will try to go all the way.” Medvedev – after winning at the start of Wimbledon
The situation was complicated by the fact that Medvedev, as a rule, does not play very well with the representatives of France. He had met with Mueller only once before, but that was so long ago that it was not worth taking into account. Let us note, however, that in one of the tough “Challengers” of 2016, the Russian defeated his opponent with the maximum possible score: 6:0, 6:0.
Medvedev confidently took the first game on his serve. The Russian, whose match was attended by five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova (on this day, 20 years ago, the then 17-year-old athlete sensationally defeated Serena Williams in the Wimbledon final), aimed for an early break and earned a triple break on the second point of the game. But Müller held his serve and did not allow his opponent to get ahead 1:1. In the fourth game, Daniil also had the opportunity to take someone else’s serve after Alexander double-faulted. However, in this case, too, there was no break – 2:2.
Maria Sharapova and Alex Gilkes attended Daniil Medvedev’s match
Photo: Jordan Pettitt/Getty Images
Then the typical grass court tennis began with a minimum of chances for the receiver, and Müller came to the net more often than Medvedev. In the ninth game, Alexander tried to force a fight with Daniil, but failed to reach break points. In the tenth game, the Russian had a set point on the reception, but the Frenchman made a key move and eventually equalized the score 5:5.
So they reached the tie-break. It cannot be said that there was no struggle in the remaining two games, but no one could win the rally. Unfortunately, Medvedev failed in the tie-break. He was the first to take a mini-break, but then he started making mistakes in almost every rally and Muller won the first set 7:6 (7:3) in 52 minutes. During the tie-break, the Russian, feeling that the game was slipping away from him, repeatedly showed discontent, which manifested itself in expressive expressions, and with the score 6:3 he went into transition. Realizing his mistake, Daniel cursed under his breath.
Daniil Medvedev in a match with Alexander Muller at Wimbledon 2024
Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
The start of the second set also went to Muller. He easily won the first game and escaped in the second. Medvedev double-faulted at “exactly”, and then the Frenchman hit the mark. In the third game, Alexander confirmed the break, breaking several “exactly”. Then Daniil seemed to understand that this could not continue like this and took the next three games. Regaining the break, he forced his opponent to make mistakes in rather long rallies, and this tactic paid off. With his serve in the sixth game, Medvedev equalized the score 3-3.
In the second half of the match, the US Open champion once again made Russian fans nervous. In the tenth game, Müller had a set point on reception, but Medvedev did not allow him to lead 2-0 in sets. In the 12th game, the Russian was saved from a similar situation and the tie-break started badly (0-3 with two mini-breaks), but ended perfectly: 7-6 (7-4) in 1 hour and 4 minutes.
Daniil Medvedev in a match with Alexander Muller at Wimbledon 2024
Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
At the beginning of the third set, Medvedev performed much better than Muller. In the second game he managed to break, and in the fourth he could have done the same, but he missed all three break points and the score became 3:1 instead of 4:0. Here Daniel began to be plagued by inaccuracies. And if in the fifth game he escaped from a break point, then in the seventh he allowed a double when it was “exactly”, and on a break point he hit the net. After that, Alexander, serving, restored the balance and won the game to love with a score of 4:4.
Fortunately, Medvedev learned from his previous failures in this match and did not allow his opponent to seize the initiative. In the ninth game he took his serve, and in the tenth he was stuck on the return and waited for Müller’s mistakes (6:4 in 47 minutes).
Daniil Medvedev in a match with Alexander Muller at Wimbledon 2024
Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Before the fourth game, Muller needed a medical timeout. When the match resumed, the tennis players began to take their serves, and Medvedev did not allow his opponent to do anything, losing only three points in his six games! In the eighth game, the Russian even had a break point, but he did not use that opportunity. And in the tenth game, Daniil received well and scored a decisive victory on the second match point, after Alexander made a double fault: 6:7 (3:7), 7:6 (7:4), 6:4, 7:5 in 3 hours 29 minutes. It is worth noting that during the entire match Medvedev hit 14 aces.
Daniil Medvedev has thus reached the third round of Wimbledon. His opponent there is likely to be the tough Chinese Zhang Zhizhen, who will play German Jan-Lennard Struff in the second round. At the grass court in Halle, Zhang Zhizhen defeated Medvedev.
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