Melbourne, Jan 19 (UNI) Daniil Medvedev beat Emil Ruusuvuori before coming back to win 3-6, 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-0 at Rod Laver Arena in a match that lasted almost 4 in the morning.
The match ended at 3:39 am Friday and started at 11:07 pm on Thursday after women’s No.3 Elena Rybakina lost the longest tiebreaker ever in a women’s Grand Slam event, 22-20 to Anna Blinkova.
Though the match will not be counted as a classic, it had plenty of drama.
Medvedev opted for a timeout to treat blisters on his right foot after the second set and threw tantrums at himself by throwing down his racket after missing a chance to break Ruusuvuori’s serve late in the fourth. He also had trouble tying the laces of his right shoe just before the deciding fifth set.
The 24-year-old Ruusuvurori from Finland began the match on a good note as he broke Medvedev and hogged the first set in 42 minutes. And the second set, Ruusuvurori kitted it in 84 minutes to take a 2-0 lead.
After a medical timeout, Medvedev scripted his comeback trail of the match by breaking for a 2-1 lead and, after an exchange of breaks, he won the third set in 49 minutes.
Medvedev also broke to open the fourth, but Ruusuvurori broke back and kept the lead 5-4 with a couple of forehand passing shots, forcing Medvedev to throw his racket into the court before walking to the chairs for the changeover. However, the chair umpire warned him.
At deuce in the next game, Ruusuvuori was two points from winning the match at 2:56 am but committed two unforced errors. Thereafter, the match ended rather quickly. Medvedev seized the momentum by taking a 4-0 lead in the tiebreaker.
After an almost eight-minute break between the fourth and fifth sets, Medvedev put to use his experience and forced the match to extend to 30 minutes before Ruusuvuori took a medical timeout for treatment on his sore right shoulder.
