MELBOURNE, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Daniil Medvedev clawed his way back from two sets down to beat Fabian Marozsan 6-7(5) 4-6 7-5 6-0 6-3 at the Australian Open on Friday to set up a last-16 tie against Learner Tien, the young American who knocked him out in the second round last year.
Having fallen in the first round at three straight Grand Slams after losing to Tien in Melbourne last year, Medvedev will now get his chance for revenge against the American, who beat him twice in three matches in 2025.
Medvedev looked destined for another early Grand Slam exit when Marozsan opened up a two-set lead, but the former world number one showed his fighting spirit to complete the comeback in three hours and 43 minutes.
As he racked up another memorable five-set victory at the Australian Open, he wrote the words, “5 sets again” as he signed off on the camera.
“He played great and I was like, ‘Look, you know what? If I lose, I lose, but I’m just going to try, I’m just going to fight’,” Medvedev said while munching on a protein bar.
“I do this all the time. I tried to go for it a bit more, because he was moving me all around, so it managed to work.”
Both players struggled for consistency on serve in the first set and while Medvedev fired down aces at some crucial moments his efforts were undermined by unforced errors and double faults as Marozsan’s calm shot-selection prevailed in the tiebreak.
“I was not calm after the first set, because I was mad at myself for not doing a bit better,” said Medvedev, who was fuming and grumbling to himself after losing the opener.
“That cost me a bit, it felt really tough to get back into the second set.”
IN A PICKLE
Hungarian Marozsan took advantage of Medvedev’s frustration, breaking twice to surge 4-1 ahead in the second set and producing arguably the point of the match with a reaction volley at the net that saw the ball spin back into his own court.
Medvedev, a three-times Melbourne finalist, finally found his rhythm in the third set, capitalising on nervy serving from Marozsan to break back and take the set 7-5.
The Russian then swept past Marozsan 6-0 in just 19 minutes in the fourth set, his deep returns and relentless pressure forcing his opponent into rushed shots.
Medvedev’s winning streak ran to nine games and while Marozsan got back into the match early in the fifth set the Russian regained control to complete the turnaround — with the help of some pickle juice.
“It happens to me sometimes when you serve for the match, you get a bit tight, a small cramp here and there,” Medvedev said.
“It’s better to drink some pickle juice and not cramp. So I didn’t cramp and I served good.”
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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