Daniil Medvedev has requested Australian Open matches start an hour earlier in order to avoid extremely late finishes.
Medvedev was one of the early casualties last year when he was defeated by Learner Tien in a match that did not end until 2:54am.
That was not unusual occurrence either with Medvedev playing until 3:40am in 2024 and the record late finish was 4:34am between Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis in 2004.
Now, with the tournament a few weeks away from beginning, Medvedev has requested the opening match be brought forward an hour to start at 6pm in order to cut down on the late finishes.
“I’m not against playing at night, don’t get me wrong, but starting the first match at 7pm is just asking for trouble,” Medvedev said on Friday.
“When you have one match of five sets, and both of them went for five for me, it is a bit too late to start at 7pm. They should be starting at 6pm.”
Despite never winning it, the Australian Open is a favourite of Medvedev who has reached the final on three occasions – 2021, 2022 and 2024.
Having been eliminated in the second round last year, Medvedev has backed himself to beat anyone at the venue provided he plays his ‘best tennis.’
“I like playing in the Australian Open, I feel like I can play good tennis there,” he said.
“I’ve played some great matches. I know when I play my best tennis I am able to beat anyone.
“I like generally to play on hard courts. The courts are pretty fast, so it suits me well.”
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Medvedev also arrives in Melbourne with a new coach having hired Thomas Johansson in September.
Johansson’s playing career was his surprise triumph at the 2002 Australian Open, making him the last Swedish player to win a Grand Slam singles title.
The 16th seed in Melbourne, Johansson battled past 26th seed Jiri Novak in the last four before a four-set victory over former world No 1 Marat Safin in the championship match.
The Swede reached a career-high of world No 7 in June 2002 and was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 2005, alongside reaching two US Open quarter-finals.
Medvedev meanwhile is looking to bounce back from a difficult 2025 that saw him end the year ranked 13th.
His preparation for Melbourne begins with the Brisbane International, a tournament he reached the final of in 2019.
“Great memories from Brisbane. I like the city. I’m happy to be back,” he said.
“Last time I played here I made the final, so I am going to try and do better.”
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