(Melbourne) Quentin Halys, 83^e world, held up well, but did not find the solution against the Russian Daniil Medvedev (12^e) who won 6-7 (9/11), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, Wednesday in the second round of the Australian Open.

The triple finalist in Melbourne (2021, 2022, 2024), beaten last year in the second round, will face the Hungarian Fabian Marozsan (47^e) to try to climb into 8^are of final.

After snatching the first set, Halys achieved the entry break in the second set and had three balls at 40/0 to lead 3-1.

But instead, the Russian chained five points in a row to get back to 2-2 and dominate the rest of the round. And the game ended with an ace.

Halys therefore does not equal his best Grand Slam result, obtained three times by reaching the third round at Wimbledon (2023, 2024) and Roland-Garros (2025).

“Quentin played very well and I’m happy to have played at a good level to win,” commented Medvedev who believes he is not yet playing as well as in Brisbane where he won before coming to Melbourne where he is “struggling” to adapt to the courts.

“His forehand was very dangerous, even at the end when he was tired. But I dug deep and managed to prevail,” he added.

“It’s been over a year since I last got past the second round of a Grand Slam tournament, so I’m happy,” he added with a laugh.

He indeed played in the quarter-finals of the United States Open in 2024, where he won his only Grand Slam title to date in 2021, before falling in the second round in Melbourne in 2025 then in the first at Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows.

“Above all, I need to rebuild my confidence. If I win five more matches here (and therefore the title, Editor’s note), it will be great. But I will take the matches one after the other,” he concluded.