Daniil Medvedev is still alive at the Australian Open . The Russian tennis player suffered more than necessary to beat the Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime in five sets after almost five hours of play, but he pulled with pride to achieve a comeback that seemed impossible after starting two sets down after losing the first two sets. The main favorite for the title recovered to achieve an agonizing victory in five sets (6-7, 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 and 6-4) and seal his pass to the semifinals, where he will face Stefanos Tsitsipas .
The game started very evenly, both tennis players were very solid on serve. It would not be until the eleventh game of the first set when the first break of the match would come, which fell on the side of the number nine in the world. Auger-Aliassime broke and served to win the first set, but Medvedev reacted with a counterbreak to force a tie-break .
In the tiebreaker the balance was decided on the side of the Canadian by 7-4. The Russian was not successful in the tie-break and committed up to two double faults. That made it easier for his rival to take the first set 6-7. In the second the errors condemned the number two in the ATP ranking and Auger-Aliassime was placed in the blink of an eye with 3-0 on the scoreboard and a break in his favor. From then on it was a breeze, Félix was very solid on serve and also scored the second set (3-6).
Medvedev was on the ropes, the tennis player trained by Toni Nadal was up two sets displaying spectacular tennis. The ninth seed of the tournament showed not one iota of doubt despite having the number two in the world in front of him, nor did he show any loophole through which the Russian could try to turn the situation around, he was making a memorable match.
Medvedev resurfaces and meets with Tsitsipas
When things were worst, the Muscovite tennis player recovered and resurfaced to force the fourth set after an impeccable tie-break by Daniil, who pulled with pride to turn the situation around and win the third set (7-6) . He resisted as best he could against an Auger-Aliassime that took him to the limit and even had a match point with 5-4 in the fourth round. Medvedev, helped by his serve, saved that match point and broke his opponent’s serve in the end to take the duel to the fifth and final set after winning the fourth 7-5.
What seemed impossible at the end of the second moto became a reality. The world number two came back from 2-0 down and everything would be decided in the fifth set. In his first serve, Medvedev saved up to three break balls to then seize the first opportunity to return and go ahead on the scoreboard after a double fault from the Canadian. Auger-Aliassime fought until the last second to turn the result around and cause a surprise, but it couldn’t be.
The quality and experience of the Russian ended up prevailing in a match in which the main contender for the throne suffered more than expected. He finally achieved victory and meets Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinal of the first Grand Slam of the season, which will be played next Friday, February 28. The Greek defeated the Italian Jannik Sinner in three sets (6-3, 6-4 and 6-2) in what was undoubtedly his most placid match of the tournament since the first round. Now the faces will be seen again with Medvedev in search of a place in the final on Sunday. Thus, the semifinal of the last edition of the Australian Open is repeated, which ended with the victory of the Russian in three sets.
