Daniil Medvedev turned things around in the most dramatic fashion after going two sets down to Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Australian Open quarter-final. Medvedev saved a match point and stormed into semi-final with 6-7(3) 3-6 7-6(2) 7-5 6-4 victory on Wednesday (January 26). The Russian now faces Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in the top four.
The 25-year-old Russian is aiming to go one step further than last year when he lost the final to Serbia's Novak Djokovic, who has not played at Melbourne Park this year.
After the match, Medvedev disclosed that he asked himself “What would Novak do?” after he struggled to get going in the opening two sets of the match.
"I was not playing my best and Felix was playing unbelievable, serving unbelievable, I didn't really know what to do, so I don't know if people will like it but I told myself 'What would Novak do?'" he continued, as fans at Rod Laver Arena booed at the mention of the nine-time champion's name got embroiled in a controversy after he wanted to participate in the tournament unvaccinated which led to him getting deported.
Referencing the rest of the big three, Medvedev then received a huge cheer as he added, "Or Rafa or Roger to be honest, they won so many matches like this. So I thought 'OK, I am going to make him work, fight to the last point'."
Medvedev narrowly survived a shock exit in the Australian Open quarter-final after going two sets down to Auger-Aliassime and also saving a match point in the fourth set.
“It’s the semi-final of a grand slam so even if if I am tired I am going to give it everything. Last year I managed to play pretty well. Let’s hope we can have a good match,” the 25-year-old said.
The Russian faces Tsitsipas now, who he played in the semis last year. He won that game in three straight sets with 6-4 6-2 7-5. Now, Tsitsipas has the opportunity to avenge that defeat against the Russian and reach his first Australian Open final.
“Stefanos is a tough player, we have had a lot of tough matches already. I hope to serve well and show my best.” Medvedev said.
Greece's Tsitsipas had earlier dominated Italian 11th seed Jannik Sinner 6-3 6-4 6-2 to reach the Melbourne semi-finals for the third time.
"I am very, very happy with the way I served today and used my tactics," said Tsitsipas, who was also pleased with how he adapted to the roof closing.
"It is part of the game. You never know what to expect from the weather. I knew I was heading towards the right direction,” he added.