Daniil Medvedev survives big wobble to beat Nuno Borges and reach Australian Open quarter-finals

Published 22/01/2024 at 07:31 GMT

Daniil Medvedev came through a tricky test against Portuguese ace Nuno Borges in the Australian Open fourth round to book a date with Polish ninth seed Hubert Hurkacz. For long spells, the world No. 3 had no answer to his opponent's ferocious baseline hitting and deft drop shots as he was forced to four sets. But he upped his game in the fourth to cruise home.

Medvedev reaches quarter-finals after 'fantastic' battle with Borges

Third seed Daniil Medvedev survived a big wobble to creep into the Australian Open quarter-finals with a four-set win over surprise package Nuno Borges.

The Russian looked on course for a routine victory but his serve deserted him at the tail end of the third set, allowing his drop shot-loving opponent to win five games on the spin from 5-2 down and force a fourth.

But Medvedev belatedly rediscovered his groove to halt the inspired Portuguese's charge and prevail 6-3 7-6(4) 5-7 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena.

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"Before this match I was feeling 100%, but he made me run. Third set at the end, that’s why I missed a little bit too much, I was pretty dead," Medvedev said on court.

"By missing too much, which I didn’t want to do, I recovered a little and in the fourth set I managed to raise my energy level. Could I have done it at the end of the third, and not been here for a fourth? Now, I’m again pretty tired. The match was good, one day off, and I should be good for the next one."

Medvedev breezed through the opening set without facing a break point and then cracked his opponent's serve midway through the second as a quick win seemed likely.

But Borges – who had already taken out seeds Grigor Dimitrov and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Melbourne – responded immediately to level at 4-4 before hanging tough to force a tie-break.

'I just hoped it would not be five sets!' - Medvedev makes the quarter-finals

The Portuguese grabbed an early mini-break before both players became guilty of untidy points, with Medvedev staying the cooler to pinch the breaker 7-4.

After the players traded breaks at the start of the third set, Medvedev raced into a 5-2 lead as victory beckoned. Then his serve went AWOL.

He dropped two double-faults when serving for the match at 5-3, then spurned two match points in the next game as Borges wriggled out of trouble with some ultra-aggressive play.

Two more doubles handed Borges the opportunity to take control of the set, with the world No. 69 obliging after winning a crazy point that saw him return the tastiest of smashes before expertly lobbing the stunned Russian.

'Stop it!' - Medvedev left shocked after epic rally as Borges somehow wins point

Borges served out the set at the first attempt – his first against a top-10 opponent – as he dreamed of another scalp at Melbourne Park.

But Medvedev upped his level in the fourth, breaking at the first opportunity as he started to get a read on the drop shot.

Another break finally snuffed out the Borges resistance, with the Russian quickly booking a quarter-final date with Polish ninth seed Hubert Hurkacz, who saw off unseeded Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 7-6(6) 7-6(3) 6-4.

"The third set was tough physically because he was playing very aggressive. As soon as I hit one shot in the rally that wasn’t aggressive or deep enough, he would go full power. It was pretty impressive," said Medvedev.

"At the end of the third set, I didn’t play long enough or well enough. I missed too much, some double faults.

"But after the third set, the only thing on my mind was that it was there and I cannot change it. I hoped it would not be five sets, and I’m happy that it wasn’t five sets."