Daniil Medvedev starts his Australian Open campaign against Jesper de Jong. For him this is an important start to a major after a successful beginning to the season, whereas the Dutchman comes into the tournament without a win in 2026.
Daniil Medvedev
Medvedev has started the season in very confident fashion, winning the title in Brisbane. On his way to the trophy he dropped only one set, defeating Marton Fucsovics, Frances Tiafoe, Kamil Majchrzak and Alex Michelsen, and then overcoming Brandon Nakashima 6:2, 7:6 in the final. In terms of his playing profile, he looks ideally set for hard courts: a high percentage of points won behind his first serve, stability on return and the ability to quickly take control of opening sets. The Russian traditionally feels comfortable in Melbourne: three Australian Open finals in the last four editions (2021, 2022, 2024) underline how well he is adapted to the conditions and the best-of-five format.
Jesper de Jong
Jesper de Jong has started 2026 poorly: two matches, two defeats. In Hong Kong he lost to Gabriel Diallo 4:6, 6:7, and then in the Adelaide qualifying he was beaten by Thiago Agustin Tirante 3:6, 6:1, 3:6. His experience at the Australian Open is very limited – just one run to the second round in 2024. In terms of level, the opponent is clearly below top-tier opponents: his serve is inconsistent, he struggles in long rallies and his return is weak against powerful servers. Against top-10 players he rarely manages to live with the pace from the very first games.
Daniil Medvedev vs Jesper de Jong Prediction
The gap in class and current form is too big. The Russian tends to start matches aggressively, often securing a break early in the set and then calmly controlling the flow of play. De Jong has shown neither form nor statistics that would justify expecting a tight battle in the opening set. Given this, an early lead for him in games looks the most logical scenario.
