Melbourne, Jan 15 (Reporter) Daniil Medvedev beat French qualifier Terence Atmane in the first round of the Australian Open, but it came at the cost of both players undergoing a fitness test in the 29-degree heat here on Monday. The two-time Australian Open finalist Medvedev won the match 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 1-0 (retired) after managing the fatigue better than his French rival. To be fair to Atmane, the heat at Melbourne was brutal and without any surprise, the French player started cramping and eventually decided to retire. For the first 15 minutes, Atmane put up a spirited challenge before Medvedev broke him in a five-deuce game for a 2-1 lead. The match followed a familiar script to the point where Medvedev served for the set at 5-4. But, Medvedev played an error-prone game that started with a double fault and went downhill from there to drop serve. He was then broken a second consecutive time to surrender the set. Atmane exploited Medvedev's traditional deep-court return shots to force his rival to start points far off the court, especially in the ad court to use his left-handed slider to great effect. The French player also mixed in with regular net play and drop shots to keep Medvedev clambering and busy under the sultry cover at the Margaret Court Arena. Medvedev came back to level the set 1-1 all, and he motored off with an early break in the third, while Atmane's movement was hampered by cramps. Taking advantage of his opponent's fitness, Medvedev resorted to drop shots, making life difficult for Atmane. Atmane surprisingly reclaimed a break for 2-all, but Medvedev once again gained control of the match when the French player retired in the second game of the fourth set. Medvedev suffered a third-round loss at Melbourne Park last year and dropped out of the Peppers tone ATP Rankings Top 10 but then went on a 19-match winning streak...////...