Daniil Medvedev has requested Australian Open matches start an hour earlier in order to avoid extremely late finishes.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not against playing at night, don\u2019t get me wrong, but starting the first match at 7pm is just asking for trouble,\u201d Medvedev said on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite never winning it, the Australian Open is a favourite of Medvedev who has reached the final on three occasions \u2013 2021, 2022 and 2024.<\/p>\n
Having been eliminated in the second round last year, Medvedev has backed himself to beat anyone at the venue provided he plays his \u2018best tennis.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI like playing in the Australian Open, I feel like I can play good tennis there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve played some great matches. I know when I play my best tennis I am able to beat anyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like generally to play on hard courts. The courts are pretty fast, so it suits me well.\u201d<\/p>\n
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