Medvedev battles past Ruusuvuori in epic contest, enters third round

At 3.40 am local time, nearly 17 hours after play on Day 5 at the Australian Open began, a relieved Daniil Medvedev shook hands with Emil Ruusuvuori at the net inside the Rod Laver Arena.

It was the end of an epic battle that lasted four hours and 23 minutes. The third-seeded Russian, suffering from blisters on his foot, seemed down and out after losing the first two sets but somehow managed to turn things around and reach the third round.

Medvedev's first-serve percentage wasn't high for the match, but he made few unforced errors and hit more winners to complete a memorable 3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-0 victory.

"Tough, tough, tough," said Medvedev in his on-court interview. "I think I've only won two matches from two sets down and one of them was here. This one will surely stay in my memory. Honestly, I wouldn't be here if I was you (the crowd). Thanks for staying guys, you are strong."

Before Medvedev and Ruusuvuori took the court, women's singles third seed Elena Rybakina and 57th ranked Anna Blinkova had played a marathon contest on the same court with the latter coming out on top. That match ended with a jaw-dropping 22-20 tie-breaker score and Medvedev reflected on how that impacted his preparation.