Daniil Medvedev has won his first match at the Washington Open, defeating Reilly Opelka in three sets.
The Russian has performed below par so far in 2025, winning only one singles match at the three Grand Slam tournaments so far.
Medvedev, who was described as a ‘little bit deluded’ after losing in the first round at Wimbledon, has a big opportunity to start the hard-court swing off on the right foot in Washington DC.
The 29-year-old is known for his singles play, but he has also dabbled in doubles, most notably at the 2024 Olympic Games.
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In August, he is set to partner compatriot Mirra Andreeva in the US Open Mixed Doubles tournament, and there is one particular opponent Medvedev would like to take on in New York.
Daniil Medvedev wants to play against Sara Errani in the US Open Mixed Doubles tournament
At the 2024 Olympic Games, Daniil Medvedev and Mirra Andreeva faced a daunting task in their first round match, facing off against Italy’s Sara Errani and Andre Vavassori.
The Russians were comfortably beaten, with Errani and Vavassori winning 6-3 6-2.
The result was not too surprising. Errani has won seven Grand Slam doubles titles, while Vavassori has won two, both with Errani. The pair are defending US Open and French Open mixed doubles champions. Errani also won the Ladies Doubles Gold Medal with Jasmine Paolini at the 2024 Olympic Games.
Medvedev was asked if he would like the chance to enact revenge against Sara Errani during 2025’s US Open Mixed Doubles tournament, with the reporter citing Medvedev’s struggles against Errani’s serve at the Olympics. The reporter described Errani’s serve as ‘maybe the worst serve in tennis’
Medvedev said: Yeah, first of all, I’d like to play Sara in singles [smiling]. Maybe with this serve I could have done better because you have bigger court.
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“No, they play[ed] amazing, with Andrea. I think they won for sure US Open last year but maybe like Indian Wells or something else I think they won this year, or maybe Roland Garros? French Open, yeah, exactly.
“They have this good chemistry where of course maybe it would be even better if she would serve better, and Andrea takes big space at the net, so at one moment it stresses you.
“I remember at the beginning of the match I was returning her serve well, and we got a bit unlucky with Mirra not to break, and then step by step during the match, I felt so much pressure that I have to do good with this serve that I actually was suddenly struggling.
“For sure would love to play them in US Open. It’s going to be fun event. Whoever we have, we’re going to try to do better than in Olympics.
The reporter asked a follow-up question: “Have you ever seen anything like it before? Returning a serve that’s like less than 100 kilometers per hour?”
Medvedev replied: “I think Learner was serving second serve pretty slowly. Learner Tien, Australian Open. But I don’t remember.
“Some second serves can be slow. Frances Tiafoe sometimes does it on purpose, can do a very slow second serve. In singles it doesn’t bother me. I probably prefer a slower serve than a faster serve in singles. For example, playing against Reilly.”
Medvedev’s big rankings opportunity
There can be no denying that Daniil Medvedev has struggled on the ATP Tour in 2025. However, he has been presented with a huge opportunity in the latter half of the year.
Remarkably, the Russian only has 620 points to defend for the rest of the season. He not only has less pressure going into tournaments, but he also has ample opportunity to rise back up the rankings.
Medvedev has slipped down the rankings after losing in the first round of Wimbledon. The Russian lost a lot of ATP points at SW19, as he reached the semi-finals of the 2024 tournament.
Medvedev, who is a former world number one, faces former junior world number one Wu Yibing in the next round of the Washington Open.