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Daniil Medvedev reaches Australian Open third round with five-set win over Emil Ruusuvuori
The Russian fights back from two sets down to enter the third round of the Australian Open.
At 3.40 am local time, nearly 17 hours after play on Day 5 at the Australian Open began, a relieved Daniil Medvedev shook hands with Emil Ruusuvuori at the net inside the Rod Laver Arena. It was the end of an epic battle that lasted four hours and 23 minutes. The third-seeded Russian, suffering from blisters on his foot, seemed down and out after losing the first two sets but somehow managed to turn things around and reach the third round.
Medvedev’s first-serve percentage wasn’t high for the match, but he made few unforced errors and hit more winners to complete a memorable 3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-0 victory.
“Tough, tough, tough,” said Medvedev in his on-court interview. "I think I’ve only won two matches from two sets down and one of them was here. This one will surely stay in my memory. Honestly, I wouldn’t be here if I was you (the crowd). Thanks for staying guys, you are strong."
Before Medvedev and Ruusuvuori took the court, women's singles third seed Elena Rybakina and 57th ranked Anna Blinkova had played a marathon contest on the same court with the latter coming out on top. That match ended with a jaw-dropping 22-20 tie-breaker score and Medvedev reflected on how that impacted his preparation.
“It was actually very tough. The thing with tennis is that you never know when you have to hit and warm up for your turn. It’s not easy. I think he (Ruusuvuori ) was better prepared in the beginning but I’m very happy I could get the job done,” he said.
It’s no secret that Medvedev thrives on hard courts. The 27-year-old has made the final of the Australian and US Open two times each, and even won the final major of the year in 2021. This time, he was staring at his earliest exit from the Australian Open since 2018. He couldn’t make it past the third round of this tournament last year.
Finland’s Ruusuvuori, ranked 53 in the world, was incredibly efficient in the first two sets before losing steam and suffering from shoulder pain towards the end.
Overall, it was a manic Thursday (and part of Friday) at Melbourne Park in the men’s singles competition.
While Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego took a set off world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, two earlier matches went the distance before being decided in 10-point tiebreakers — Olympic champion Alexander Zverev fended off Lukas Klein in four-and-a-half hours and 11th seed Casper Ruud edged Max Purcell 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7). Ninth seed Hubert Hurkacz, too, took five sets to get past Jakub Mensik.
The big upset came from wild card Arthur Cazaux. The 21-year-old produced some scintillating tennis to oust eighth seed Holger Rune in four sets in what was just his third-ever tour-level win. With precise baseline hitting, creative slices and incredible athleticism, Cazaux outwitted his opponent and pulled off an incredible upset inside Margaret Court Arena.
"It was a crazy match. My voice is a bit tired now, but it was a big fight. Holger is a wonderful player. I've known him for a long time. I knew it was going to be a big fight and I was ready. I'm so happy and that was crazy," said Cazaux.
Wimbledon champion Alcaraz dropped a set for the first time in the tournament before recovering to beat Sonego. With a strong breeze to contend with, the Spaniard was tested by his opponent but came through. He will next face 18-year-old Chinese wild card entry Shang Juncheng, who ousted India's Sumit Nagal. It'll be the first time on tour that Alcaraz will be facing a player younger than him.
“He beat some big guys,” Alcaraz said of Shang's run to the semi-finals in Hong Kong earlier this month. “So I know he has the level. He's already there.”
