Daniil Medvedev threatened to get changed on court during the Australian Open final when the umpire told him he had already used up his five-minute change of attire break. The world No. 3 found himself dragged into a fifth set against Jannik Sinner after winning the first two and was noticeably sweaty.
Medvedev looked to be cruising to his first title win at the Australian Open when he took the first two sets 6-3 6-3 in under 90 minutes. But Sinner flipped the script and won the third, prompting the 27-year-old to take a five-minute off-court break to visit the bathroom and get changed.
The world No. 3 needed another break after dropping the fourth set as he looked like he was soaked in sweat as the match entered its fourth hour. But Aurelie Tourte informed him that he had already used his one extended bathroom break to get changed. “I’m gonna change on the court, I’m gonna change on the court,” Medvedev replied, threatening to get undressed on Rod Laver Arena.
He eventually left the court for a very brief break, re-emerging from the tunnel to begin the fifth and final set. “He’s already had his change of attire break so what’s he going to do here?” Nick Lester questioned on commentary.
Nick Kyrgios, who was also commentating on the final, added: “I mean he’s very sweaty, I think it’s appropriate that if he is just changing his shorts, he does that in his own privacy.”
Medvedev had already spent more than 20 hours on the court coming into the final. He contested three five-set matches, coming back from two sets down in two of them – including Friday’s semi-final against Alexander Zverev. In the second round, Medvedev completed his five-set comeback over Emil Ruusuvuori at 3.40am.
In contrast, Sinner failed to drop a set throughout the tournament until the semi-final, where he beat Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3. Ahead of the final, Medvedev admitted that the Italian would have the physical advantage given the disparity between how much time they’d spent on court.
