10 of the best wins from match point down in 2022: No 5: Medvedev beats Auger-Aliassime, Australian Open QF
In part five of our series looking at the best wins from match point down in 2022, we examine an escape by Daniil Medvevev in Melbourne
Daniil Medvedev AO 2022 AI / Reuters / Panoramic
In 2022, a total of 140 matches on the ATP/WTA Tours were won from match point down; 81 on the men’s side and 59 on the women’s side. Two men – Jannik Sinner and Dominic Thiem – did it four times while two women – Petra Kvitova and Jessica Pegula managed it on a Tour-topping three occasions.
Tennis Majors has picked out 10 of the best of those 140 matches, where one player escaped from the jaws of defeat to claim an unlikely victory.
No 5: Australian Open QF: Medvedev beats Auger-Aliassime 6-7 (4-7) 3-6 7-6 (7-2) 7-5 6-4
Medvedev’s serve gets him out of trouble
Though Daniil Medvedev was favourite for the title in Melbourne, after the deportation of Novak Djokovic over his refusal to take the Covid-19 vaccine, the Russian looked out of sorts for long stages against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The Canadian led by two sets to one and had a match point at 5-4 in the second. Crucially, it was on the Medvedev serve and the Russian dug himself out of a hole with a massive ace, at 132mph.
An early break in the fifth set put him in control and he went on to take victory, much to his relief.
“I have no idea,” he said, asked how he won. “Talking about the match point, I managed to serve well. If I had a second serve who knows what would have happened. “I was not playing my best. Felix served unbelievable; I was all over the place.”
