The stage is set at the Rod Laver Arena for the conclusion of the Australian Open 2024. Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner are battling it out one more time in this tournament to win their maiden Australian Open title. While Sinner knocked tennis great Novak Djokovic out in four sets, Medvedev fought a tough 5-set match to book his finals berth.
This has been Medvedev’s specialty. As pointed out by his coach Gilles Cervara the other day, Medvedev is an anomaly and a mystery. He is also a master at winning it in the final set, often surprising everyone. In context to that, here are 5 times the Russian tennis player has won a tough 5-set match (chronologically).
Daniil Medvedev’s see-saw battle with Filip Krajinovic (Australian Open 2021)
The year was 2021 and Medvedev had yet to break into the tennis scene as a force to reckon with. At the Australian Open, Medvedev defeated Vasek Pospisil of Canada and Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain in back-to-back straight-set wins in the first and second rounds respectively. It was his third set match against Filip Krajinovic of Serbia where he faced a tough challenge.
The match started well in favor of Medvedev, where he won the first two sets 6-3 each. Just when Medvedev might’ve felt the match was in his favor, Krajinovic stormed back with two back-to-back set wins with 6-4, 6-3. Suddenly, the match was in its last leg i.e. the dreaded fifth set. Medvedev showed his class to win the fifth set in a bagel. This was the first time the Grand Slam audience was witness to a Daniil Medvedev fifth-set masterclass.
Medvedev showed his class to Felix Auger-Aliassime (Australian Open 2022)
After reaching the Australian Open final for the first time in 2021, Medvedev returned the next year with extra fervor. The Russian player had climbed the world rankings and reached the 2nd spot by then. However, he faced a tough opponent in Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals. Auger-Aliassime was the second Canadian in the quarterfinals of that tournament, and he gave Medvedev a run for his money.
With two tie-breakers in the middle, Medvedev had to work hard to take the game to the fifth set. Medvedev lost the first set 7-6 (7-4) to Auger-Aliassime and was on the backfoot. He lost the second set too by 6-3 and was lingering on the edge of a loss. The Russian player fought tooth and nail to win the third set in tie-breakers, by 7-6 (7-2) and stay in the game. He won the next set 7-5, and suddenly the game started to drift away from Auger-Aliassime.
But it was the fifth set and the player on the court was Medvedev. He took an advantage from very early on in that set and eventually won it 6-4. From two sets down, Medvedev won the match by winning the last three sets and advanced into the semi-finals.
Medvedev comes excruciatingly close to beating Rafael Nadal in the finals (Australian Open 2022)
Daniil Medvedev reached the Australian Open finals for the second consecutive time in 2022. He beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in four sets in the semi-final and had Rafael Nadal waiting for him in the final. While Medvedev might be spectacular in the final set, he has lost on rare occasions. This final with Nadal was one such instance.
Medvedev was ahead and cruising towards a win after winning the first two sets 6-2, 7-6 (7-5). He was even getting the crowds going loud at the Rod Laver Arena. In the third set, Medvedev was ahead by 4-2, and it looked like a done deal for him. However, Nadal had other plans. He roared back into the game with two 6-4 set wins and suddenly the game was in its fifth set. After the score was 5-5 in the fifth set, Nadal held his nerve and didn’t let the game slip away. He won 7-5 and won the trophy.
Medvedev ended American Christopher Eubanks’ run in the quarter-finals (Wimbledon 2023)
Daniil Medvedev reached the semi-finals of the Wimbledon for his first and only time in 2023. And he reached there by beating Christopher Eubanks in the quarter-final of that tournament. Medvedev’s road eventually ended against Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals, but it was only after a thrilling contest against Eubanks.
Medvedev won the first set convincingly by 6-4 against Eubanks. Eubanks came back with two strong sets of 6-1, 6-4 to take a lead in that game. The next set was a Medvedev specialty to take it to the tie-breakers and win it 7-6 (7-4). He reserved his best for the final set. Eubanks stood no chance against an electrically charged Medvedev, who won it 6-1.
Daniil Medvedev reserved a special gameplay to knock out Alexander Zverev (Australian Open 2024)
After a brilliant win over Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev came into the semi-finals in red-hot form. His opponent was Daniil Medvedev, and Zverev was cruising towards a victory halfway through the match. Medvedev was predicted to go through to the finals, as he did, but not before Zverev made him sweat.
Zverev won the first two sets against Medvedev convincingly by 7-5, 6-3. The third set had reached a tie, and it looked like the Russian player might be on his way out. But, as the tennis world has seen him so many times, Medvedev bounced back. He won the third tie-breaker 7-6 (7-4) before the fourth set too reached the tie-breakers. Medvedev won that 7-6 (7-5), by the barest of margins. In the final set, he blew Zverev away by 6-3.
With that stellar win, Medvedev was all set to face Sinner in the finals. He just won two sets over Sinner and the score currently is 6-3, 6-3. Will this match reach five sets and who will win the match?
