Daniil Medvedev somehow found the energy to laugh and joke with the Australian Open spectators who stayed to watch the end of his marathon five-set win over Emil Ruusuvuori. The second-round meeting went on until 3.39am local time, with Medvedev coming from two sets down to devastate his Finnish opponent.
Medvedev admitted after the comeback win that a tense tiebreak decider between Elena Rybakina and Anna Blinkova, which took place inside Rod Laver Arena directly before his match, had hampered his preparation.
That became apparent early on as Ruusuvuori came storming out of the blocks, taking the first two sets 6-3 and 7-6. But Medvedev is no stranger to the kind of marathon match-up that forces a player to dig deep, and he held his nerve to win the proceeding three sets, including a bagel in the decider.
There were plenty of empty seats by the time the Russian’s victory was sealed, and he joked to those remaining that he would have returned to his hotel long ago if he was in their shoes.
“What is it, like 3.40am in the morning? Honestly guys, I would not be here,” Medvedev told the crowd during his post-match interview with Eurosport before breaking into laughter.
With a classy message for those who stayed for the duration to show their support, he continued: “Thanks for staying! If I came as a tennis fan, at 1am I would have been like, ‘Ok, let’s go home and catch the end of the match on the TV.’ I guess, thanks guys. You are strong. Strong!”
Third seed Medvedev, who has twice made the final in Melbourne, will deservedly go into the third-round meeting as the favourite. He also boasts a vastly superior head-to-head record, with six wins from six against the 23-year-old.
Medvedev’s main objective will now be to rest and recover from his extremely late night against Ruusuvuori. His mouth-watering match with Auger-Aliassime is scheduled to get underway on Saturday.
