January 26, (THEWILL) – At the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday, Daniil Medvedev was staring defeat in the face as he lagged behind Felix Auger-Aliassime after two sets. Having trouble keeping his form while Auger-Aliassime put on a proper show, a thought came to Medvedev: “What would Novak do?”
Whatever answer came back to the Russian, it worked. Medvedev saved a match point on Rod Laver Arena as he staged a stunning comeback to defeat Auger-Aliassime in five sets and go to the final four in Melbourne.
Afterward, he credited world number one Djokovic, who has built his reputation on a never-say-die attitude, with giving him the confidence he needed to turn things around. In his post-match comments on court, Medvedev said:
“I was not playing my best and Felix was playing unbelievable, serving unbelievable. He was all over me to be honest, I didn’t really know what to do. I don’t know if people are going to like it, but I asked myself ‘what would Novak do?’”
In light of the Djokovic saga that dogged the build-up to the Australian Open, his admission was met with boos — and a few applause – from the audience.
As THEWILL reported, a tumultuous legal battle was waged over Djokovic’s medical exemption for being unvaccinated and it finished with the Serbian being deported on the eve of the start of the first Grand Slam of the year.
“What came to my mind was that he was one of the greatest champions, or Rafa or Roger to be honest, they’ve won so many matches… and I just thought OK, I’m going to make him [Auger-Aliassime] work,” continued Medvedev.
“If he wants to win it, he needs to fight to the last point. Even if it’s 5-0, 40-0 to him, I’m going to try to make him tired for the next match.”
Medvedev’s comeback from a two-set deficit in Melbourne is only the second of his career. The victory keeps him on track for a second Grand Slam victory after he won the US Open in September.hu
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
