Australian Open 2024: Daniil Medvedev fights back to sink Emil Ruusuvuori in late-night finish in Melbourne

ByAlex Livie

Published 18/01/2024 at 17:01 GMT

The hardy souls that stayed to the bitter end on Rod Laver Arena were treated to some sparkling tennis as the No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev fought back from two sets down to win a five-set thriller against Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland to reach the third round of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Stream the 2024 Australian Open live and on demand on discovery+

Daniil Medvedev fought back from two sets down to beat Emil Ruusuvuori in a game that finished at 3:40am local time.

A contest that started beyond 11pm, Medvedev looked set to be bundled out in rapid fashion as the Finn raced into a two-set lead.

Medvedev stemmed the tide and after securing the third, he took the fourth on a tie-break to force a decider.

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On a day when a host of big names - Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula among them - were bundled out, No. 3 seed Medvedev dug in to secure a 3-6 6-7(1) 6-4 7-6(1) 6-0 success in a match that lasted four hours and 23 minutes.

Whether the late start played a part, only Medvedev will be able to say but he made a poor beginning to the contest by losing his opening service game.

The two-time Melbourne finalist found himself 3-0 down and never recovered his equilibrium as 16 unforced errors in the opening set allowed Ruusuvuori to edge in front.

Ruusuvuori wins first set against Medvedev

Medvedev was broken again at the start of the second set, and sought out advice from his box.

The advice came from Tim Henman in the Eurosport commentary box, as he said: “He’s looking over to his box, but he hit it in the net - so hit it higher. Hit it over the net. It’s not anything more complicated than that.”

Medvedev showed signs of waking from his slumber when breaking back in the sixth game of the second set.

Further breaks of serve followed as the second set went to a breaker after Medvedev squandered set points on the Ruusuvuori serve.

The sparse crowd on Rod Laver Arena had to wait seven minutes for the start of the breaker, as Medvedev received treatment on a blister.

Daniil Medvedev's foot are pictured as he gets a medical timeout during his men's singles match against Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori on day five of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne early on January 19, 2024

Image credit: Getty Images

If Ruusuvuori was frustrated by the time out, he did not let it get to him as he raced into a 5-0 lead in the tie-break and closed it out to take control of the contest.

Medvedev took further time between the sets, and it seemed to spark him into action as he moved his opponent around the court.

Ruusuvuori was also the source of his own problems, as he sent down a double fault when break-point down in the third game as Medvedev edged ahead and took the set to gain a foothold.

Medvedev broke at the start of the fourth, only to cough it back up and was given a code violation for smashing a racket.

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The fourth set went to a tie-break and it was the polar opposite of the second, as Medvedev got in front early and dominated it to level the contest and force a decider.

It was Ruusuvuori’s turn to take a break at the end of the fourth. It did not aid him as he lost his opening service game of the decider as Medvedev made a strong move.

'A walk in the park' - Medvedev dominates tie-break to force deciding set

The Russian took control of the contest from the back of the court and moved his flagging opponent from corner to corner in ruthless fashion.

Ruusuvuori called out the trainer after three games of the final set and received treatment on his right shoulder.

Medvedev adopted the persona of a wall as he got ball after ball back to the frustration of his opponent.

A second break of serve followed, and an exhausted Ruusuvuori was unable to avoid the bagel as Medvedev wrapped up the win on his first match point as the Finn threw a backhand over the baseline.

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