Egor Gerasimov followed up his win over Andy Murray in Montpellier by powering past a man who once played second fiddle to the Scot.

The Belarusian saw off Aljaz Bedene, with a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win carrying him through to the quarter-finals of the Open Sud de France.

Bedene was British number two to Murray heading into Wimbledon in 2016, when the Scot won his third grand slam title, but has since reverted to representing his native Slovenia.

He put up a fight against Gerasimov, who sank Murray in straight sets on Tuesday, but the 28-year-old from Minsk took three of his five break-point opportunities and held his nerve in the tie-break to advance.

The success for Gerasimov sets up a last-eight clash with Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who scored a fine 7-5 6-2 win over Polish fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz.

Top seed and world number 13 Roberto Bautista Agut raced to a 6-0 6-3 victory over French qualifier Gregoire Barrere, but Croatian third seed Dusan Lajovic tumbled out, losing to Dennis Novak in straight sets.

At the Singapore Open, second seed John Millman fell by the wayside, the Australian slumping 6-4 6-1 to compatriot Matthew Ebden.

French top seed Adrian Mannarino encountered no such problems, ending the hopes of Roberto Marcora with a 6-3 7-5 win to join Ebden in the quarter-finals.

Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the Rotterdam Open after being advised to give his troublesome back problem time to heal.

The world number two was scheduled to represent Spain in next week's tournament at Rotterdam Ahoy but has been replaced by Reilly Opelka of the United States.

Twenty-time grand slam winner Nadal has been struggling with a lower back injury and was also forced to pull out of Spain's ATP Cup ties this month.

The 34-year-old was cleared to take part in the Australian Open, where he did not drop a set before losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals.

However, Nadal has still not fully recovered from the issue and will now miss another event.

Organisers of the ATP 500 tournament confirmed the news on Thursday and Nadal later took to Twitter to explain the decision.

"It is with great sadness that I have to forfeit from Rotterdam," he said. "As most of the fans know, I suffered some back problems in Australia that started in Adelaide and continued during Melbourne. 

"We found a temporary solution that allowed me to play without pain in the second week of the tournament. Once I got back to Spain I visited my doctor and together with my team they've advised not to play this upcoming week. 

"I was really looking forward to coming back to Rotterdam and The Netherlands since it's been a while I played there this was the perfect year for my calendar. 

"I hope to come back and play there soon. All the best to the tournament, always a top-class event."

World number three Daniil Medvedev will replace Nadal as the top seed in the Rotterdam tournament, which runs from March 1-7.

Roger Federer would have the perfect moment to bow out of tennis if he lands a ninth Wimbledon title this year, according to former SW19 hero Michael Stich.

Swiss great Federer has not played on tour for over a year after undergoing knee surgery twice, and Rafael Nadal has matched his tally of grand slam titles during that time.

By winning at the delayed French Open last year, Nadal joined Federer on a record 20 slam titles, with Novak Djokovic just two behind that pair after his Australian Open triumph last week.

At the age of 39, Federer is on the comeback trail and planning to play tournaments in Doha and Dubai in March, building up to Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics, key goals for what might prove to be his final season on tour.

"It is clear that at some point he will stop," Stich, the 1991 Wimbledon champion, told Stats Perform News.

"Many would have thought that already five years ago. We have no influence on that. I would wish for him to win Wimbledon and say after the final: 'You know what, I had a sick time, I'll stop.'

"There couldn't be anything better and that would give so much to the sport."

Stich believes it is "questionable" whether Federer will be capable of success on that scale, but he sees Wimbledon as his greatest opportunity.

"You should never write him off because he is a player who has a gifted set of skills that help him to still play tennis that good at his age," Stich said.

"He may have the problem that the younger generation no longer has this huge respect for him because he was out for a year. The mental side plays a big role there.

"But especially at Wimbledon he is certainly still a candidate for the title, because there he has this mental strength, because there he has the greatest joy.

"The nice thing is that everyone is looking forward to his comeback and wants to see what happens. He has nothing to lose. He doesn't have to prove anything to himself, he doesn't have to prove anything to the fans out there. He's really doing it because he thinks he can still win titles."

With Nadal and Djokovic winning the last two majors, the prospect of Dominic Thiem's US Open win last September triggering a sea change in the men's game has fallen away.

According to Stich, the likes of Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev cannot just wait for the old guard to make way and must instead find a way to disrupt their dominance.

"As a spectator and fan, I naturally wish that the passing of the torch would still happen during the active time of the 'Big Three'," Stich said.

"It's the big goal of all young players that they would like to beat a Roger Federer, a Novak Djokovic, and a Rafael Nadal in a grand slam final. An Andy Murray and a Juan Martin del Potro did it. The only two in what felt like 20 years, and Stan Wawrinka, who is not to be forgotten with three titles.

"It's up to the young generation now and they are no longer 19. They are all 22, 23, 26. Dominic Thiem achieved it at the US Open. One would of course wish that they actively shape this transition, but that is looking into the future."

Stich says he has "no idea when that will happen", but he believes there will be another great generation that emerges, just as tennis moved on from the golden era of Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, and latterly the days when Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi dominated.

"We have a generation in which three players shaped this period extremely," Stich said. "Now is a chance for the others to step into the spotlight. The next generation will follow in their footsteps. I'm not worried about that."

Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff reached the semi-finals of the Adelaide International with contrasting victories in Thursday's play.  

Reigning French Open champion Swiatek is through to the last four of a tournament for the first time since her success at Roland Garros, having spent just over an hour on court against Danielle Collins.  

Swiatek had taken the opening set and was already 3-0 in up in the second when Collins was forced to retire due to a lower back issue.  

The fifth seed will next take on Jil Teichmann, who failed to take any of the five match points that came her way during a dramatic second set tie-break with Anastasija Sevastova, though she eventually prevailed in the decider.  

Teichmann staved off two opportunities for her opponent when serving at 4-5 in the third as she claimed three games in a row to triumph, a 6-4 6-7 (10-8) 7-5 victory coming after two hours and 57 minutes.

In the other half of the draw, Gauff had to fight hard to seal her progress, having been down a set and 4-2 to Shelby Rogers.   

The 16-year-old, who came through qualifying, rallied to triumph 2-6 6-4 6-4 and reach the semis at a WTA 500 event for the first time.  

"I didn't realise how much a role experience plays until I started playing some players who are a lot older than me and they know what to do," Gauff said, per the WTA Tour's website.   

"Even when it comes to the little mind games and all that, they know what to do in those moments. So I'm just learning and picking up a few tricks and as I go."  

Gauff, who has won all three of her matches in the main draw via a deciding set, will go up against second seed Belinda Bencic, the Swiss having swept aside Storm Sanders in straight sets. 

Marin Cilic made a strong start to his quest to win the Singapore Open and join the ATP Tour's rather exclusive '20 club'.

The former world number three beat Taro Daniel 7-5 6-4 on Wednesday, winning 82 per cent of his first-serve points in an encouraging performance as he attempts to win a ninth indoor Tour title.

Should Cilic lift the trophy, he would join Roger Federer (103), Rafael Nadal (86), Novak Djokovic (82), Andy Murray (46) and Juan Martin del Potro (22) as the only active male players to win at least 20 Tour-level titles.

"It is the beginning of the season and my third match of the year, so I am still feeling a little bit rusty," said Cilic. "Overall, it was a solid match. [It is] something I definitely needed for the start of the tournament."

The Croatian will face Kwon Soon-woo in the quarter-finals, while Yoshihito Nishioka and Alexander Bublik were among the others to progress.

Jannik Sinner was a surprise casualty at the Open Sud de France, the world number 34 losing in three sets to Aljaz Bedene in a match that lasted nearly two hours and 40 minutes.

Sixth seed Ugo Humbert battled past Dutch qualifier Tallon Griekspoor in a match with three tie-breaks, while second seed David Goffin went the distance to overcome wildcard Benjamin Bonzi 4-6 6-4 7-5.

Robert Lewandowski heads a stellar list of nominees for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award after a golden 12 months for Bayern Munich.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton and tennis great Rafael Nadal are also in contention. Joshua Cheptegei and Armand Duplantis complete the male nominees.

Poland striker Lewandowski enjoyed a memorable 2020 for the German giants, with his impeccable performances helping Bayern to a Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League treble. 

Across the top-five European leagues, no player could match Lewandowski's 45 goals scored in all competitions from January 1 to December 31 with Cristiano Ronaldo his nearest rival on 41.

In that 12-month period, only Barcelona great Lionel Messi (115) and Juventus superstar Ronaldo (85) registered more shots on target than Lewandowski's 83, while a shot-conversion rate of 34.09 was the fifth highest among players to score at least 20.

Reflecting his all-round contribution, Lewandowski recorded 12 assists in the calendar year, with team-mate Thomas Muller leading the way on an impressive 21. 

Unsurprisingly, Lewandowski won a fifth Torjagerkanone (awarded to the Bundesliga's top scorer) overall and a third in a row thanks to 34 Bundesliga goals in 2019-20, higher than an expected goals rate of 26.9. His 15 goals in the Champions League were also a competition high.

In a stacked deck, James is included after a year that saw him win a fourth career NBA title and first with the Lakers, while he also claimed a fourth Finals MVP award.

Across six games in the Lakers' 4-2 triumph over the Miami Heat, James averaged 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists, while he shot 59.1 per cent from the field and drained 41.7 per cent of three-point attempts.

Mercedes driver Hamilton won a seventh F1 drivers' title in 2020 to match the overall record of the legendary Michael Schumacher.

During another sensational season, the Briton reached 95 career race wins, which surpasses the previous benchmark of 91 set by Schumacher.

In a calendar year disrupted heavily by the coronavirus pandemic, Nadal still had personal reason to celebrate after winning a record-extending 13th French Open title.

His triumph at Roland Garros means he now stands alongside Roger Federer on 20 grand slams – the most achieved in the men's game.

Uganda's Cheptegei broke both 5,000 and 10,000 metres world records in 2020, while Duplantis of Sweden broke the indoor and outdoor pole vault record.

Tennis' global superstar Naomi Osaka is nominated for the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award.

The Japanese was champion at the US Open in 2020, which took her career slam tally to three. She recently made that four by winning the first major of 2021 at the Australian Open.

Lyon captain Wendie Renard is in contention after helping her team to a fifth straight Women's Champions League title, while WNBA Finals MVP award winner Breanna Stewart is included after guiding the Seattle Storm to championship glory.

Cyclist Anna van der Breggen – who won both the road race and time trial at the World Championships – is up for the prize, as is skier Federica Brignone, the first Italian woman to win the overall World Cup.

Kenya's Brigid Kosgei completes the women's nominees after winning the rescheduled London Marathon by more than three minutes.

Bayern, the Lakers and Mercedes are all up for the World Team of the Year Award, as are Liverpool, who won a first English top-flight title in 30 years.

The Kansas City Chiefs make the list after winning a first Super Bowl since 1970, while Argentina's men's rugby team are nominated after earning a first ever win over three-time world champions New Zealand.

Patrick Mahomes' role in the Chiefs Super Bowl win earned him a nomination for the World Breakthrough of the Year Award, with Iga Swiatek up for the prize after winning the women's singles at the French Open aged 19, the youngest slam winner since 1990.

MotoGP world champion Joan Mir, Tour de France victor Tadej Pogacar, US Open male champion Dominic Thiem and prodigious Barcelona talent Ansu Fati complete that category.

Ash Barty crashed out of the Adelaide International at her first hurdle after going down in straight sets to Danielle Collins.

It took only 65 minutes for American Collins to defeat the defending champion and world number one in a 6-3 6-4 triumph.

Barty, who had a bye in the first round, did have opportunities, breaking in the first game of the match and building a 4-1 lead in the second set.

But on both occasions Collins stormed back, claiming her first win in four attempts against home favourite Barty, who had beaten her in the semi-finals of last year's tournament.

Coco Gauff continued her fine run to reach a first WTA quarter-final since August 2020 with an impressive comeback win over sixth seed Petra Martic.

The American triumphed 5-7 6-3 6-4 in two hours and 12 minutes to book a clash with compatriot Shelby Rogers at the WTA 500 event.

Gauff did not relinquish serve once after losing the first set and did not even offer up a break-point chance in the decider, which she sealed with a pivotal early break secured with a passing winner.

"I go into every tournament thinking that I can win," said the 16-year-old.

"Obviously that's impossible, to have a perfect record, but I go into every tournament believing that I can win. 

"I try not to think far ahead in the match, at least I just try to focus on my next match, just because you have to get through that before you can get to the finals, and just take it one match at a time."

Second seed Belinda Bencic will face Storm Sanders in the quarter-finals after a 6-1 6-3 win over Misaki Doi.

In a match where she was not quite as dominant as the scoreline suggests, Bencic had to fend off 12 break points but was successful in saving 10 of them.

Number four seed Elise Mertens withdrew before her match with a shoulder injury, so Anastasija Sevastova beat lucky loser Christina McHale to set up a last-eight tie with Jil Teichmann.

Andy Murray endured a miserable return to ATP Tour action as he alarmingly lost in straight sets to Egor Gerasimov at the Open Sud de France.

A positive coronavirus test ahead of the Australian Open meant Murray had not played on the main tour ahead of travelling to Montpellier this week.

The three-time major champion, who lost in the final of a Challenger Tour event in Biella earlier this month, revealed on Monday he did not watch the action at the first grand slam of the year "because I wanted to be there myself".

But Murray also suggested practice had gone well in the meantime and he was optimistic of again competing with the world's best.

Tuesday's first-round meeting with Gerasimov brought a bump back down to earth.

The Briton went down 7-6 (10-8) 6-1 to Gerasimov, whose previous outing had been a 6-0 6-1 6-0 humbling at the hands of Melbourne surprise package Aslan Karatsev.

There were no signs of an impending implosion as Murray held his own in the first set, broken in the seventh game but responding instantly to reach a tie-break.

Gerasimov – playing Murray for the first time – converted a fourth set point, though, and his opponent was way off the pace in the second, forced to defend match point just to avoid an embarrassing bagel.

Home hopefuls Lucas Pouille and Gilles Simon were each also eliminated, while eighth seed Jan Lennard Struff went down to compatriot Peter Gojowczyk.

Radu Albot was the only seed in action at the Singapore Open and came through unscathed against John-Patrick Smith, one of three Australian players to depart across Tuesday's four matches at the tournament.

Teen stars Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff earned Adelaide International victories on Tuesday, but third seed Johanna Konta is out.

French Open champion Swiatek secured a 6-3 6-4 triumph over Madison Brengle to set up a last-16 tie against home favourite Maddison Inglis, who beat veteran Sam Stosur in a three-set epic.

"Inside I'm the same person, but I realise that everybody's kind of treating me differently," Swiatek said after the win, as she reflected on the attention she now receives as a grand slam champion.

"So it's something you have to adjust to, and also keep yourself down to earth and the same as you were.

"We did a great job last year and hopefully this season will also be successful. 

"Tennis-wise it also changes - I’m not an underdog anymore, so I start my matches with a different attitude, and that’s the kind of thing you have to learn to do.

"Madison is the kind of player who uses her opponent's power, so I had to stay cool. 

"I tried to calm myself down, stay low in the legs, and sometimes play longer rallies to get in the rhythm, because the first round is always tough at any tournament."

Gauff also progressed, saving eight of the 11 break points she faced to defeat Jasmine Paolini 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 in a match lasting over two-and-a-half hours.

A tough test against Petra Matric is up next for Gauff in the last 16 after the Croatian sixth seed recovered from a set down to win against qualifier Ludmilla Samsonova.

Gauff's fellow American Shelby Rogers is the first player to reach the quarter-finals.

Konta had a bye in the opening round and had no answers for Rogers as she played her first match of the WTA 500 tournament.

Rogers won 6-2 6-2 in just 76 minutes, never dropping serve in the contest.

The next generation of tennis players are not close to knocking world number one Novak Djokovic off his mantle, according to three-time grand slam winner Andy Murray.

Djokovic’s big-match experience shined through while cruising to a straight-sets win over Russia’s Daniil Medvedev to seal his ninth Australian Open win and 18th career grand slam title.

The Serbian has lifted six of the last 10 slams, with 20-time slam-winner Rafael Nadal claiming three and Dominic Thiem capturing his first major honour at the 2020 US Open.

The draw opened up for the Austrian in Flushing Meadows when Djokovic was eliminated after defaulting in the fourth round when hitting a line judge with a stray ball.

Thiem is the only first-time winner of a major in the past 24 events over a six-year period, and Murray cannot see a changing of the guard anytime soon.

"The younger guys, for me, they've not shown that they're particularly close," Murray said.

"I expected the [Australian Open] final to be closer but it's a different standing to return or to serve in a grand slam final than a quarter-final or a semi.

"When you're coming up against someone who's won 17 of them, it's pretty intimidating.

"Obviously at the US Open, Dominic Thiem did what he had to do to win the event. But if Novak hadn't put a ball through the line judge's throat, it would have been the same outcome, I think."

Preparing for his first tour event of the season, an ATP 250 tournament in Montpellier, France, Murray has kept his distance from the grand-slam scene while rehabbing a long-term hip injury.

The 33-year-old admits he didn't even watch any of the action from Melbourne Park as he aims to rebuild his fitness and return to the highest level.

"I didn't watch any because I wanted to be there myself. It was a struggle to be honest," Murray added.

"I stopped following all the tennis players on social media and stuff because I just didn't really want to see it."

Murray goes up against world number 83 Egor Gerasimov of Belarus in the round of 32 on Tuesday, after finishing as runner-up to Ukraine's Illya Marchenko in an ATP Challenger event last week.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga suffered defeat in his first match since last year's Australian Open as he was beaten in straight sets by Sebastian Korda at the Open Sud de France.

Tsonga last played in the first round in Melbourne last January, when he retired from his clash with Alexei Popyrin, owing to a back injury.

And the former Australian Open finalist was unable to make it a winning return at a tournament where he lifted the trophy in 2019.

Korda eased to a 6-4 6-2 win, with the only home success of the day coming from Ugo Humbert while Lorenzo Sonego saw off Hugo Gaston.

Popyrin, who stunned David Goffin in the first round at this year's Australian Open, was a winner over Christopher Eubanks at the Singapore Tennis Open.

Lloyd Harris beat Popyrin in the second round in Melbourne, but they will not meet again in this tournament after the South African was undone by wild card Adrian Andreev.

Yoshihito Nishioka, Maxime Cressy and Taro Daniel also prevailed.

Danielle Rose Collins will face world number one Ash Barty after beating Zheng Saisai at the WTA Adelaide International.

The American wrapped up a 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 victory and will now face top seed Barty, who will still be smarting from her surprise quarter-final exit at the Australian Open.

Barty is the reigning champion in Adelaide and will be seeking to put that loss to Karolina Muchova firmly behind her.

Collins' compatriot Shelby Rogers also prevailed, beating Veronika Kudermetova 6-3 7-6 (7-4) to set up a clash with third seed Johanna Konta.

Anastasija Sevastova overcame Caroline Garcia 6-2 6-4, while eighth seed Wang Qiang was a 6-4 6-3 winner over teenager Olivia Gadecki.

Novak Djokovic believes he silenced his critics by triumphing at the Australian Open after finishing the tournament with a torn oblique muscle. 

Djokovic clinched a record-extending ninth Australian Open title and 18th major overall with a 7-5 6-2 6-2 thrashing of Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev on Sunday. 

The Serbian faced criticism before the tournament over a list of requests for players who were in quarantine due to coronavirus, while also being questioned over the severity of the oblique injury suffered during a third-round win over Taylor Fritz. 

Djokovic felt the backlash was unfair, but believes he answered in the best way possible by winning the title in Melbourne again. 

"Of course, it's not nice to hear that. I mean, it also seems unfair from some people that kind of criticise and judge without really checking before," the world number one told a news conference. 

"But as I said, it's not really the first time. I have so much experience with this because it happened so many times in my life, in my career, that I experience that. It will probably not be the last one. 

"Look, at the end of the day everyone who has the stage has the right to say what they want to say. It's a matter on my side whether I'm going to react or not, in which way I'm going to react. I didn't allow it to hinder my performance. I think winning the trophy is in a way my answer."

After taking a two-sets-to-love lead against Fritz, Djokovic suffered the oblique injury. He was forced to a decider by the American before eventually managing to advance. 

Djokovic said afterwards he had torn a muscle and may need to pull out of the tournament, although was unwilling to give too much away as the event went on. 

The 33-year-old, though, said after his win on Sunday that he had torn his abdominal oblique muscle. 

"It is a tear, a muscle tear, of the abdominal oblique muscle. I felt it right away when it happened against Fritz in the third round. That's what I said in the post-match interview. I was kind of guessing, but I felt just that it's a tear because of the snap and the way I felt after that," Djokovic said. 

"I know there's been a lot of speculation, people questioning whether I'm injured, how can I recover so quickly, it's impossible to do that. I get it. I mean, look, everyone is entitled for their own opinion, and everybody has the freedom and the right to say what they want, criticise others. I just felt like it was a bit unfair at times. But, hey, it's not the first nor the last time. 

"What we have done in the past nine, 10 days, you'll get a chance to see in detail probably at the end of this year when the documentary comes out.   

"I've been filming a lot of things that I've been doing here, but also in the previous months, six months. We're planning to take that documentary out end of this year. You will be able to see more of the routine of recovery, stuff that was going on behind the curtain."

Daniil Medvedev entered the Australian Open final in red-hot form and with a strong recent record against Novak Djokovic – yet he still fell well short.

Djokovic's record-extending ninth Australian Open title and 18th major overall came in comprehensive fashion with a 7-5 6-2 6-2 thrashing of Medvedev at the Rod Laver Arena on Sunday.

Medvedev was on a 20-match winning streak that included 12 victories over top-10 players, including Djokovic - who he had beaten in three of their previous four meetings. Still, the Russian was still dismantled.

Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have now won 10 of the past 11 grand slams. The other was Dominic Thiem's success last year at the US Open, where Djokovic stunningly defaulted in the fourth round and Nadal and Roger Federer were absent.

The 'Big Four' became the 'Big Three' following Andy Murray's injury woes, and that may now be the 'Big Two'.

Federer shares the men's grand slam record with Nadal on 20, but the last of those for the Swiss great came in 2018 and the 39-year-old has missed the past three majors.

Djokovic, 33, and Nadal, 34, have shown few signs of slowing down. With the Serbian dominating in Melbourne and the Spaniard continuing to own Roland Garros, they seem to have at least one grand slam each locked away every year.

After his loss on Sunday, Medvedev said of the trio of greats: "Nothing else to say than they are undoubtedly, I don't think anyone can argue with this, the three biggest names in tennis history. I'm talking only about results. I'm not talking off court, game. I'm talking about results. What they did in tennis is unbelievable for me.

"I'm 25 now. To win nine Australian Opens, I need to win every year until I'm 34. I mean, I believe in myself, but I don't think I'm able to do it. Same with Rafa. I mean, 13 Roland Garros... We're talking about some cyborgs of tennis in a good way. They're just unbelievable.

"When I'm out there, I'm not thinking, 'Okay, they are too strong for me.' I always want to win. I beat some of them in some big tournaments, like London [the ATP Finals] for example. I just need to be better next time in the grand slam finals against these two guys or Roger."

Thiem took his chance and landed a major at Flushing Meadows, while he has shaped as the most likely successor to Nadal in Paris, where he lost finals in 2018 and 2019. Medvedev has found his rhythm and Sunday's defeat was his second in a major decider.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, 2020 US Open runner-up Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev and Matteo Berrettini look like potential threats, while Canadian pair Denis Shapovalov, 21, and Felix Auger-Aliassime, 20, continue improving.

But Medvedev looked more than capable of ending Djokovic's incredible record in Melbourne before falling well short, showing potential challengers they still have a way to go if they are to finally stop the all-time greats.

Daniil Medvedev rued a below-par performance after his Australian Open final loss to Novak Djokovic.

In his second grand slam decider, Medvedev was well beaten 7-5 6-2 6-2 by Djokovic on Rod Laver Arena on Sunday, seeing his 20-match winning streak ended.

Medvedev had his chances against the world number one, but Djokovic stepped up in key moments to win a record-extending ninth Australian Open title.

The Russian fourth seed felt his performance was average in the final as he mixed 24 winners with 30 unforced errors.

"I don't like to lose matches. Doesn't matter if it's a first round or a final of a grand slam. Of course, it's just that feeling that you're closer to hold the trophy than when you lose the first round," Medvedev told a news conference.

"Talking about the match, it's tough, just when you lost to reconsider straightaway. But I feel like it's the kind of matches I won throughout this tournament that he won today.

" I was there in the first set, I was up a break in the second, but in the end I lost in three sets where I didn't play bad but I didn't play my best level. Probably he made his game that good today that I couldn't stay at my best level.

"Yeah, I obviously thought about [Andrey] Rublev and [Stefanos] Tsitsipas, both amazing top-10 players, and I won with a similar score where they were playing good, but I felt like I was better. So today was the case for Novak.

"I cannot say much better than this. He was better than me today. I could have done things for sure better today, but I didn't manage to. That's why I don't have the trophy."

Medvedev recovered from 3-0 down to draw level in the first set before being broken in the 12th game, while he gave up a break lead in the second.

The 25-year-old was unsure whether his performance was down to a bad day, or Djokovic's display.

"That's where it's tough to say because I don't know 100 per cent. I feel like I for sure could have played better. Especially looking at the matches where I played him," Medvedev said.

"At the same time there is always a question maybe he was not that good the other matches I played him because it's always day by day. You know the question is how did he manage to win here nine times out of nine? Probably all the nine times he was better than his opponent.

"I don't have an answer to this question. He definitely was good. I definitely could have done better. But even if I would have done better, doesn't mean that the score would be different.

"Today we have this score. I'm the loser; he's the winner. That's the point."