A distracted Daniil Medvedev found his focus to secure a place in the third round of Wimbledon on Centre Court.
I tried to stay composed, and I turned the match around Daniil Medvedev
The fifth seed, beaten in the semi-finals by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz last year, defeated Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-7(3) 7-6(4) 6-4 7-5.
But his mind seemed elsewhere early on. The Russian hit a return long and thought he had lost the opening set.
He slumped down in his seat after looking furiously at his back-up team,
In fact, the score was only 6-3 in the tie-break to his opponent and, it is reported, his coaches Gilles Cervara and Gulles Simon raised a smile when the reality dawned on their player.
The 28-year-old returned to the court where Muller, ranked 97 spots below the former world No.1, did indeed secure the set on the next point.
Yet Medvedev managed to claw his way back into an enthralling encounter, edging level on another tie-break in the second set before sealing victory over three-and-half hours.
He said: “It was a very tough physical match. Alex played well. Some moments in the match were very tough to stay in touch with him. I managed to stay solid. Next time I will try to do better.
“At the end of the first set my thoughts were not good. I went to sit in my seat and the referee was saying 6-3, 6-3 and I didn’t even hear him.
“I tried to stay composed, and I turned the match around.”
Medvedev, it was suggested, often plays on No.1 Court, but he revealed he doesn’t mind performing on Centre.
He said: “Centre Court for some reason feels much slower. I need to get used to it. The more I play on it the more chances I have to get used to it.
“I am always happy to play in Centre Court if I win.”
