Daniil Medvedev packed the four-hour 42-minute Australian Open quarterfinal with more lines and angles than those girdled in a geometry case. At the other end, Felix Auger-Aliassime flaunted his power and sparked a fire turning a tennis match into a rock concert that threatened to outlast the Melbourne night.
The world No.2, of a reedy build and mathematical range, rallied from two-sets-to-love down, fighting off a match point in the fourth set with his biggest serve of the evening (213 kmph) to pull off an epic 6-7 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5, 6-4 win.
In his courtside chat with Jim Courier the 25-year-old Muscovite pointed at his deflated gym bag in which he had packed gear to be used during the match — shorts and some dozen shirts or more. It was empty. Perhaps like his tank save for that sweet taste of victory.
“In the first two sets I was not playing my best, Felix was playing unbelievable. I didn’t really know what to do,” Medvedev said. “Then I asked myself, what would Novak do? He’s one of the greatest champions. Or Roger or Rafa for that matter they have won so many matches like this. Make him work. If he wants to win he has to fight till the last point.”
The match stats mirrored the strategy, both players won a total of 182 points in their near five-hours on court. It showed in the grunts too, with Medvedev upping his decibel level to match the Canadian’s distinct tone that carries with his fall through.
Medvedev, whose forehand strayed on the big points in the first two sets, made little inroads against the 21-year-old Auger-Aliassime in the early part of the match. It didn’t help that the Canadian was backed by a raucous house. The second-seed, however, put his head down and stuck to the task. Once he pulled one back in the third set the tide turned and by the fifth he had won over a considerable section of the Rod Laver Arena with who he had started interacting.
Medvedev mixed-up his play in the third set, challenging himself and coming in behind his serve, in fact every time he was in trouble the world No.2 pressed on the accelerator, attacking relentlessly. The roof came into play after the first three points of the third set tie-break, Auger-Aliassime, who takes his time between points, between serves even, won just one more point in the shootout.
Medvedev said “When they closed the roof (third set tie-break) I felt the momentum change. I could go through the court more, serve better.”
In Friday’s semi-final, the Russian will take on Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, whose first-strike tennis earlier in the day set the standard for what was to follow.
The fourth-seed came through 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in a little over two-hours.
Tsitsipas lost just 11 points on his first serve and didn’t face a single break point in the match against Jannik Sinner, one of the better returners in the game.
“We’re just getting started,” the Greek warned. “It’s too early to decide whether it was or not (my best match), but it was a great performance from start to finish.”