Australian Open 2020: Stanislas Wawrinka battles back to eliminate Daniil Medvedev in five-set epic (VIDEO)
by RT
Australian Open 2020: Stanislas Wawrinka battles back to eliminate Daniil Medvedev in five-set epic (VIDEO)
Russian No. 1 Daniil Medvedev has been knocked out of the Australian Open after former champion Stanislas Wawrinka staged a dramatic mid-match comeback to win a five-set thriller.
Wawrinka took the opening set, then appeared to lose his composure as Medvedev came back into the contest in the second set, then took the third to move ahead.
But Wawrinka came storming back and won the fourth set via tiebreak before wrapping up the victory for a dramatic rollercoaster victory, 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2.
Medvedev looked in fine form heading into the match following a strong year in 2019 that saw him claim four titles and an ATP Tour-leading 59 match wins. He also had the edge in the key head-to-head stats between the pair, having won both of their prior Grand Slam meetings.
But the 23-year-old became the highest-ranked casualty of the men’s tournament so far as he was unable to convert a 2-1 advantage in sets, with Wawrinka staging a dramatic fightback in a match that lasted three hours, 25 minutes.
“This was another amazing match, really tough to play against Daniil, I lost to him in U.S. Open but today I came back strongly on the fourth and fifth sets,” said Wawrinka after the epic encounter.
“The level was super high and it was a great atmosphere. It’s amazing to keep playing here, I’m really happy to be able to continue to play at this level here and I’m looking forward to the quarter-final.
“I’m finding the answers, I lost confidence a bit in the second and third sets but I knew it was all on the mental side of things.”
Wawrinka will take on the winner of the Last 16 match between Germany’s Alexander Zverev and Russia’s Andrey Rublev for a place in the semi-finals.
