Three-time Australian Open finalist Daniil Medvedev had to dig deep on Monday to overcome Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong in a gritty first-round victory at Melbourne Park, kicking off his quest for a second Grand Slam title.

The 29-year-old Russian, known for his fiery temperament, eventually won 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (2) on the hot Margaret Court Arena, setting up a second-round clash with French qualifier Quentin Halys. Despite the straight-sets scoreline, Medvedev’s performance was far from flawless, as he was broken twice while serving for the match.

At least there were no on-court outbursts this time, a stark contrast to last year when he was fined for smashing his racquet and damaging a net camera during a similar stage of the tournament.

“Today was not easy. First match, Grand Slam,” Medvedev said. “Happy to win in straight sets, even if some of them were kind of up and down. The conditions felt slow, so we were both breaking each other’s serve a lot. The most important thing is to win. I’m playing better than last year and looking forward to this Australian Open.”

The former world number one, currently ranked 12th, entered Melbourne in form after winning the Brisbane International.

Medvedev got off to a strong start, firing a forehand winner down the line to break the 79th-ranked De Jong immediately. But De Jong fought back, converting a second break point at 1-2 to stay in the first set. The two traded breaks in a seesaw opening, with Medvedev finally holding to take the set 7-5 after 58 minutes.

The second set saw Medvedev assert himself, breaking De Jong five times out of six opportunities and wrapping up the set in 39 minutes. In the third, he served for the match at 5-4 but faltered, double-faulting to give De Jong two break points, which the Dutchman converted. Medvedev broke back immediately, then found his rhythm in the tiebreak to close out the match.

Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, has been a constant threat in Melbourne over the past five years, reaching three finals. He lost to Novak Djokovic in 2021 and to Rafael Nadal in a nail-biting 2022 final, before suffering a dramatic five-set defeat to Jannik Sinner in 2024 after holding a two-set lead.

With the win, Medvedev progresses to round two, keeping his hopes alive of finally capturing the Australian Open trophy that has eluded him.