In its debut against Kozlovwho entered the main draw after the resignation of the German Alexander Zverev, Medvedev imposed his superiority to gain momentum in a tournament in which he seeks to defend his title for the first time since 2008.
The last player capable of stringing together more than one title at the US Open was the Swiss Roger Federer, who was crowned from 2004 to 2008 in New York.
Medvedev, the first player other than Federer, Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Britain’s Andy Murray to reach world number one since 2004, opened the program on Court Arthur Ashe and needed two hours to eliminate Kozlov.
He connected ten service winners and, despite giving his service twice, in the fourth game of the first quarter and in the eighth of the second set, he always had the match under control.
It was confirmed intractable in the first rounds of the New York tournament, in which he won his last five matches in three sets. He has a record of five consecutive wins in the opening round, after the Canadian Denis Shapovalov struck him down in 2017.
Since then, the Russian player has been the protagonist of great performances in New York and last year he was crowned champion after beating Serbian Novak Djokovic in the final.
It was the first ‘great’ of his career and his victory prevented ‘Nole’ from completing the Grand Slam.
He was also a finalist in 2019, when he fell to Rafael Nadal in five sets, after coming back from two sets down.
In the next round, Medvedev will face Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech. (n.58).
The US Open opened on Monday and will conclude on September 11.