Daniil Medvedev, the three-time Melbourne Park finalist, defeated World No. 418 Kasidit Samrej of Thailand 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the opening round on Tuesday to escape one of the greatest shocks in recent Grand Slam history.

According to tournament data, Medvedev’s abnormally high total of 34 unforced errors—of which 17 occurred in the second and third sets—reflected his mid-match troubles.

At crucial points, Samrej showed some big-stage courage, especially when he held serve from 3-3, 0/40 to win the third set. In his Grand Slam debut, he also used a lot of cunning drop shots to defeat Medvedev.

After losing the third set to the Thai wildcard in an unexpected change of events, Medvedev’s emotional state reached a breaking point. A camera was damaged as he repeatedly slammed his racquet against the net.

Samrej was unable to sustain his attempt to pull off the lowest-ranked upset of a top-five seed at a Slam in the Open Era, even though he had a two-sets-to-one lead after dropping the first set.

“I was shocked since I didn’t see this level when I watched his matches. Life might be good if he performed like this in every game. I hope he can perform like this in every game. If I’m facing him, I won’t. “To succeed in tennis, you have to be reliable, and I hope this for him,” Medvedev said during his on-court interview.

Medvedev regained total control of the match and broke Samrej’s serve twice in the fourth and fifth sets on his way to a three-hour, eight-minute victory. Samrej, who has never played more than three sets in a professional match, drank pickle juice after experiencing a cramp in the fourth set.

Another tournament rookie, Learner Tien, who defeated Camilo Ugo Carabelli 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, will face Medvedev in the second round.