Daniil Medvedev battled his way into the quarter finals at the Australian Open after the world no.3 beat rising Portuguese talent Nuno Borges 6-3, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1.
The two-time Aussie Open finalist missed the opportunity to close out the game in three sets when Borges saved two match points, only for Medvedev to recover from the setback to record a comprehensive win in the fourth.
Daniil Medvedev charms Australian Open crowd in interview after win over Nuno Borges
The victory has moved the Russian into the final eight for the third time at the tournament as the former US Open champion looks to finally claim the title Down Under after a couple of near misses.
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Ninth seed Hubert Hurkacz now stands in his way after the Polish star dispatched French wildcard Arthur Cazaux in straight sets at Melbourne Park.
Medvedev offered a fascinating insight into a trademark part of his game post-match, when he explained to Nine’s Jim Courier the reasoning behind his deep positioning for his return of serve.
"My return from close I don’t think is that good, I can do it but it’s not the best," Medvedev said.
"You can ask Novak (Djokovic) or someone else."
Medvedev once again utilised the deep position to keep Borges’ serving game in check as his opponent was able to send down just five aces for the match.
"I started here [motioning near the baseline] and then at one moment…I would play Jo-Wilfred Tsonga who is serving 220km/h," Medvedev said.
"I lost that match pretty easy, so I was like maybe I should do something different.
"Next time I played someone who served big, I would go somewhere here [stepping back].
"Then I would play someone who would serve even bigger, and I would go somewhere here [stepping further back]," he added to laughs and applause from the crowd.
Masterclass: Return of serve with @DaniilMedwed 🎾#AusOpen • #AO2024 pic.twitter.com/9oqSKPxbIf
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 22, 2024
The 27-year-old, who has beaten the likes of Felix Auger-Aliassime and Emil Ruusuvuori to date, was quizzed by Courier on how his deep positioning counted against him when players executed the drop shot.
"I remember (Carlos) Alcaraz in Indian Wells, he has one of the best drop shots if not the best in the game," Medvedev replied.
"He made like 10 winning drop shots against me in the final.
"Then I came to Miami and played guys and suddenly everyone was doing drop shots against me. But if your drop shot is not perfect, I’m going to win the tournament."
Medvedev admitted the strategy had frustrated him at different points in the match against Borges, with the 26-year-old pulling off a number of drop shots which left him scrambling.
Although, Medvedev’s big-game experience and precision – the Russian made just 34 unforced errors compared to Borges’ 66 – eventually told during an entertaining clash.
"I was so happy that guys were doing drop shots, today I wasn’t happy because Nuno was doing drop shots that were unbelievable," Medvedev smiled.