Picture Credit: Australia Open
The Quarterfinal match between second seed Daniil Medvedev and ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime turned out to be a thriller with both players bringing their A-game to the fore. The Canadian was too good for reigning US Open champion Medvedev in the first two sets as he claimed them 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. However, Medvedev made a strong comeback from the third set and won three consecutive sets to claim the match.
But it was never a cakewalk for World No. 2 with Auger-Aliassime continuously challenging him. In a game that lasted for 4 hours and 42 minutes, there were several long rallies. But one that caught everyone's eyes was the one that came in the early part of the game. Young Auger-Aliassime got the better out of Medvedev in an 18-shot long rally as he got a point in the end. Aliassime made Daniil play across the court and got him with a cheeky shot at last.
Watch Aliassime's cheeky point here:
Medvedev comes back from 2-0 down
It was a typical champion's show from Daniil Medvedev as the Russian tennis star came back from 2-0 down to take the match in his favour. Medvedev seemed to be struggling in the first few minutes, especially with his serves. He lost the first set on a tie-breaker. The Canadian, on the other hand, rode on the momentum and claimed the second set 6-3 as well.
With such a neat and inspiring performance in the first two sets, Auger-Aliassime would have hoped to take the match away in the third set but it was not to be. Although the ninth-seeded Canadian looked ahead of Medvedev on most occasions, the latter fought hard and gave it all to claim the third set on a tie-breaker. And from thereon, the champion Medvedev took over and kept his opponent at bay in the next two sets.
Medvedev took the fourth set 7-5 and then claimed the match in the fifth and final set by winning it 6-4. While talking about his performance in the match, Medvedev said that he had no idea. "Talking about the [whole] match, you know, it’s funny. This Lacoste bag, I usually come with a lot of clothes. Just in case [I have] six T-shirts, two pairs of shoes, whatever. It’s full, it’s tough to even zip it. Now, it’s empty. That’s how this match was," said Medvedev.