The highly anticipated quarterfinal match between top seed Daniil Medvedev and the 9th seed Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime is currently underway. The 21-year-old took the first two sets 7-6(4), 6-3, but Medvedev bounced back to take the third set 7-6(2).
Felix Auger-Aliassime causes a stir
An error-strewn Medvedev had sparks of great shot-making, but could not assert his dominance on the court. Auger-Aliassime relied heavily on his serve, which proved to be a magnificent weapon in the Canadian’s artillery. He played aggressively, and with precision. He also came up to the court, when necessary, to change the pace of the game. Exhibiting skill as an all-court player, Felix Auger-Aliassime is moving well on the court, playing shots that are interesting to watch.
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Oh my Canada! 🤯 @felixtennis, take a bow 👏
🎥: @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis #AusOpen • #AO2022 pic.twitter.com/PD2GEU050h
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2022
Daniil Medvedev seemed to have found some of his rhythm back by the end of the third set, imposing his presence more on-court. Even though he could not break the Canadian’s serve, he held his own to force the match into a tie-break.
Also read: ‘Absolute Knob’: Nick Kyrgios Criticized By Opponent at Australian Open 2022
Daniil Medvedev looking to bounce back
Three points into the tie-break, rain interrupted the match again. After the short break, the players returned and Medvedev served well to take a 4-1 lead. Aliassime seemed to take time adjusting to the post-rain closed roof conditions and soon, Medvedev grabbed the third set.
Medvedev stepped his game in the fourth set, serving better and hitting cleaner balls. Medvedev is known for getting riled up by the crowd’s reaction, or by the actions of the players. But this time, he found a new agent to focus his annoyance on.
After a service game where he held his serve, he looked up at the umpire and complained against the organisers’ “stupidity”. This was fueled by the fact that when Medvedev was preparing for a serve, his opponent, Felix Auger-Aliassime’s face appeared on the courtside screens. This may have distracted him, leading to his annoyance.
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Medvedev complaining about whoever is controlling the big screen:
"Tell the operator, stop being really stupid … How stupid can he be, huh? Idiot. You need to be really no-brained to do that."
Dumusois: pic.twitter.com/2Vnf2nunok
— The Tennis Podcast (@TennisPodcast) January 26, 2022
“They put Felix’s face on the screen just before I came back, how can they be so stupid? Idiots. You really don’t have to have a brain, it’s mind-blowing,” he said, seemingly quite affected by the visuals.
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Can Medvedev pull through and stop Felix from pulling off an immense upset?
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