“Today was very difficult for me, Daniil won a couple of crucial points early in the first set and that kind of set the tone for the match. He played well and I was unable to produce my best tennis," said Harris after the 15th seed beat him 6-1 6-2 6-1.

“I learnt a lot from this match and it only motivates me to work harder to get stronger and better for the future,” said Harris. 

The 21-year-old Harris, ranked 119th on the ATP Tour rankings, was playing in his second main draw of a Grand Slam, having also played in last year's US Open, where he lost in the first round to Gilles Simon from France.

The Capetonian hit 22 winners but made 39 unforced errors compared to the 13 of Medvedev.

Harris made his way through three qualifying rounds to make it into the main draw of the opening Grand Slam of the year and said he has learnt a lot from his second appearance in a Major.

Kevin Anderson and Raven Klaasen are the other South Africans in the main draw of the Australian Open.

In the doubles event, South Africa's Raven Klaasen and his New Zealand partner Michael Venus will begin their campaign against America’s Bradley Klahn and Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin.

- ANA