ATP Tour

Medvedev makes classy US Open return, Paul wins

After a disappointing first-round exit to a Frenchman in 2025, Daniil Medvedev made sure there would be no ‘deja-vu’ upon his return to the US Open on Sunday.

Medvedev, the 2021 champion in New York, opened his campaign at the hard-court major in controlled fashion, defeating qualifier Hugo Gaston 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and 14 minutes. Last year, Medvedev fell to Benjamin Bonzi in a chaotic five-set opener that did not finish until 12:49 a.m. but this time, the former World No. 1 returned to Flushing Meadows with a point to prove.

Defending just 10 points this fortnight, Medvedev has a major opportunity to climb further inside the world’s Top 10. His victory over Gaston, which also served as a response to his opening-round loss to Martin Damm in Winston-Salem last week, has lifted him two spots to No. 6 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

"The last couple of weeks were not easy but, you know how it is, sometimes you lose matches, sometimes you win," Medvedev told former WTA player Andrea Petkovic in his on-court interview. "I'm happy that today I managed to produce a high level of tennis. I felt like I did everything I wanted to do well. I finished the match strong. I started the match strong. I'm really glad the way I played."

Into the second round for the eighth time in his US Open career, Medvedev will next face either American wild card Sebastian Gorzny or Raphael Collignon.

In other first-round action on Sunday in New York, home hope Tommy Paul rallied from a sluggish start to defeat qualifier Coleman Wong 6-7(3), 6-1, 6-3, 6-3. This fortnight, Paul is chasing a place in the quarter-finals for the first time at the US Open, with which he would complete the set of quarter-final appearances at all four Grand Slam tournaments, becoming the only active American man to achieve the feat.

Now 37-16 on the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, Paul owns the joint-third-most tour-level wins this year, level with countryman Frances Tiafoe. Standing in his way next at Flushing Meadows is Dino Prizmic, who saved two match points to claim a thrilling 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 victory over Aleksandr Shevchenko.

Prizmic saved both match points on return at 4-5 in the fifth set before reeling off three straight games to seal the comeback, then fell to his back in celebration. The victory marks the 21-year-old Croatian’s first US Open win, having qualified for the main draw in 2025 before falling to Andrey Rublev in the main draw.

Prizmic's fellow former Next Gen ATP Finals competitor Luca Van Assche also scored a statement win on Sunday, when he upset 29th-seeded Briton Cameron Norrie 6-7(8), 6-2, 6-2, 6-3. By earning his first win in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Norrie (1-3), Van Assche advanced to a second-round clash with Denis Shapovalov.