WATCH: Daniil Medvedev commends die-hard tennis fans who stayed to watch his match finish after 3 am

James Richardson
Daniil Medvedev
A spectator reacts as he watches the second round match between Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland and Daniil Medvedev of Russia on Rod Laver Arena at the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park.

Daniil Medvedev went through an emotional rollercoaster in his epic five set match that finished close to four in the morning but was in good spirits after the match.

Medvedev had earlier launched his racket across the court in frustration with Finn Emil Ruusuvuori’s stubborn resistance.

After drawing a few jeers for his racket abuse, Medvedev seemed to win back the crowds favour with his strong finish and good humour after the match.

“What is it, like 3.40am in the morning? Honestly guys, I would not be here,” Medvedev told the crowd.

“Thanks for staying! If I came as a tennis fan, at 1am I would have been like, ‘Ok, let’s go home and catch the end of the match on the TV.’

“I guess, thanks guys. You are strong. Strong!”

Ruusuvuori put on a great show with immaculate baseline striking, but Medvedev overcame his darker impulses to secure a four-hour, 23-minute victory.

As the match went on the temperature dropped dramatically adding another pitfall for both players/

“It was tough. I think the only two matches when I went two-sets-to-love down and won, it was here, on this court,” said Medvedev in his on-court interview.

“So that’s a good memory for sure. This one is for sure going to stay in my memory, at 3:40 in the morning.”

For the most part of his third matchup with the No. 53-ranked Finn in the ATP Rankings, Medvedev cut a dissatisfied figure. Early in the match, he committed a number of errors, especially off his backhand wing, but he managed to step it up when it counted.

After going down 4-5 in the fourth set, Medvedev came back to win the tie-break and even the match at two sets all. In the final frame, Medvedev continued to dominate while Ruusuvuori started to feel the effects of his tiring body and the dropping temperatures. The physio treated the Finn’s right shoulder, but in the end, he was unable to halt the World No 3’s charge.

“It was not easy to start the match and in the first set I was missing too much. I was missing all over the place,” said Medvedev, who hit 51 winners to 63 unforced errors overall. “Then I [changed my racquets] and finally found one where I felt like I was playing better. Sometimes it is just something you create in your mind.

“I stayed with this racquet. I started with it at the beginning of the third set and stayed with it until the end of the match.”

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