Medvedev squandered a two-set lead against Nadal in their previous meeting in the Melbourne final in January, allowing the Spaniard to clinch his 21st Grand Slam title.
Williams had little trouble against the 31-year-old German although the gusty breezes at Auckland Tennis Centre played havoc with her ball toss, especially when she was serving for the match at 5-3 in the second set.
Five things to watch out for on day five of the French Open on Thursday
Five things to watch out for at the French Open on Wednesday.
It proved a happy Halloween for Czech Petra Kvitova after she made the most of coming back from the dead to set up a title-match showdown with Agnieszka Radwanksa at the WTA Finals.
Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro served notice of his strong form ahead of the Australian Open when he crushed defending champion Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-1 in the final of the Sydney International on Saturday.
Images from Day 1 of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, on Monday.
As we prepare to cruise into the New Year, Rediff.com gives you a glance back, through photos, into all the sporting moments that made the last 12 months memorable.
BNP Paribas Open chief executive and tournament director Raymond Moore provoked outrage with controversial comments he made before the women's and men's finals at Indian Wells, and later issued an official apology.
World No 55 Haase improved to a 2-2 career record against Zverev, including victories in their last two meetings.
Naomi Osaka settled her nerves and stepped up her preparations for the Australian Open by beating Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-2 to reach the last 16 of the Gippsland Trophy warm-up tournament in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Britain's Andy Murray enjoyed a routine win over Argentina's Juan Monaco to ease into the third round of the tennis tournament at the Rio Games on Tuesday, while Spain's world number nine David Ferrer was knocked out.
Russia's Elena Vesnina ousted German second seed Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California on Tuesday.
Serena Williams battled a misbehaving serve and scorching heat but stayed cool under pressure in a 7-5, 6-4 win over Czech Barbora Strycova to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals on Monday.
Maria Sharapova will not care less what reception she receives when she plays her first Australian Open match since completing a doping ban on Tuesday, according to three-times Melbourne winner Mats Wilander.
Nadal set to face Kyrgios clash in second round
Challengers to Serena Williams' throne have proved as fickle as a Paris spring and as the year's second grand slam starts the veteran American is again seemingly in a league of her own. The 34-year-old's charge to overhaul Margaret Court's record 24 grand slam singles titles may have stalled since she chalked up major number 21 at last year's Wimbledon. But after fine-tuning her claycourt game by winning last week's Italian Open she will begin the defence of her French Open title as the strong favourite. With twice French Open champion Maria Sharapova suspended pending the findings of an anti-doping hearing after she tested positive for Meldonium in Australia this year, the list of players capable of toppling a fully firing Williams is short.
American teenager Amanda Anisimova, fresh off an impressive run at Indian Wells, beat China's Wang Qiang 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 at the Miami Open on Tuesday to set up a second round clash with Spanish third seed Garbine Muguruza.
Images from Monday's action at the French Open.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic will face Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro, the player who denied him a medal in London, in the opening round of the Rio Olympics after the draw was made on Thursday.
Britain's Andy Murray, bristling with confidence after ending a three-year wait for another Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, will seek to make history in Brazil by becoming the first man to win successive Olympic gold medals in men's singles tennis.
As a new and unique brand of tennis makes its debut in the country with a mix of Indian and international stars, veteran Leander Paes says the Champions Tennis League, for him, is about building bonds and new friendships.
Former world number one Maria Sharapova avenged her US Open loss to Anastasija Sevastova with a 7-6(3), 5-7, 7-6(7) victory over the Latvian in the China Open first round on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
Serena Williams thrashed unseeded Russian Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-0 to reach a ninth Wimbledon final on Thursday.
Serena Williams gave little away on Sunday as she assessed her chances of retaining her Wimbledon title -- and dismissed suggestions that she is under any pressure. The 34-year-old American has not struck a ball competitively since losing to Spain's Garbine Muguruza in the French Open final on June 4 - a defeat that frustrated her hopes of matching Steffi Graf's professional era record of 22 grand slam titles. Considering she also fell at the final hurdle in Australia against Angelique Kerber and went out of the U.S. Open semi-finals last year when two wins away from a calendar grand slam, Williams would be forgiven for feeling a little edgy.
Images from Sunday's action at the Australian Open.
Top seed Serena Williams and her older sister Venus led a foursome of American women into the Australian Open fourth round on Saturday.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the Australian Open in Melbourne, on Thursday.
The 'Big Four' of men's tennis have made it into the second week of Wimbledon unscathed and largely untroubled while the women's draw remains wide open, but "Manic Monday" could offer major clues as to the destination of this year's titles.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Former world number one Maria Sharapova hit back at Serena Williams' criticism of her autobiography on Wednesday -- two days after their much-anticipated showdown at the French Open was scuppered by an injury to her American rival.
Next up for the 35-year-old will be another American in 39th-ranked Tommy Paul with a potential semi-final clash against top-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev, who he defeated in the Australian Open final from a two-sets deficit.
Kristina Mladenovic took her love affair with Roland Garros to a new level on Friday.
Roger Federer took 55 minutes to dispel all injury doubts with a 6-2, 6-1 routing of unheralded German Tobias Kamke in the second round of the Brisbane International on Thursday. Media speculations swirled around the fitness of the world number three less than two weeks before he launches his bid for a fifth Australian Open title and the Swiss maestro dismissed them by dropping only three games in a lop-sided contest. "I'm going to do my best to stay injury free and give myself a chance to win another grand slam," Federer said after setting up a quarter-final against Grigor Dimitrov.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Images from Day 4 of the French Open matches played at Roland Garros in Paris on Wednesday
Images from Day 7 of the 2021 US Open in New York on Sunday.
Rafael Nadal returns to his favourite tournament, albeit not his preferred court, to begin pursuit of a record-extending 10th French Open title on Monday against Frenchman Benoit Paire.
Djokovic is clubbed with Federer, Juan Martin Del Potro, David Goffin and Alexander Zverev.
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