Third seed Daniil Medvedev survived the Australian Open as he came from two sets down to beat Emile Rusuvori in a match that ended at 3:40am local time in Melbourne.
Medvedev looked like he might have gone to bed as the unseeded Finn took control of the match. But the Russian showed his fighting spirit and ensured that the match turned into an early morning as he came back to win with a score of 3-6, 6-7 (1-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), 6-. 0 o’clock, two hours before sunrise.
The game kicked off at 11:15pm and lasted four hours and 23 minutes before a sparse, die-hard crowd at Rod Laver Arena. Medvedev took to court after Elena Rybakina lost 22-20 to Anna Blinkova in the longest decider in women’s Grand Slam history.
“Honestly, guys, I wouldn’t be here,” the Russian told the crowd afterwards. “Thank you for staying. It was so hard, so hard, so hard. If I were a tennis fan, at 1 o’clock in the morning I would be like: ‘Okay, let’s go home and watch the game end on TV. “I think, thank you everyone. You are strong. Strong!”
The fifth day of the Australian Open thus ends on Friday, although an extra Sunday was added at the start of the tournament and the first round was divided into three days. This is the latest result so far this year, but still not close to the race record. Just after 4am last year, Andy Murray defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis in a second-round match that lasted five hours and 45 minutes.
That was just enough for second place. The most recent match in Grand Slam history ended at 4:34 a.m. in 2008, when Lleyton Hewitt defeated Marcos Baghdatis.
A late start may have been a factor in Medvedev’s slow start, as he lost his first serve in the first game and quickly fell behind 3-0. The two-time Melbourne final was quickly handed a set after making 16 unforced errors.
Medvedev needed treatment for a blister in the second set, and although he showed his fighting ability, he eventually collapsed in the tie-break and faced an early exit in Melbourne.
However, thanks to Rusuvori’s indifferent serve – he double faulted on the third break point of the third set – Medvedev began to fight back before taking the set.
The 27-year-old then broke Ruusuvuori at the start of the fourth game but handed it back and received a violation penalty for smashing his racket. Medvedev then dominated the tie-break to level the match, but as the minutes ticked by, both his opponent and the crowd were exhausted. With Rusuwari struggling with a shoulder injury, he sealed the victory with a 6-0 decider.
Medvedev will next face Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated Hugo Grenier 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
