Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime has fallen just short of a major upset at the Australian Open.
Second-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia rallied for a 6-7 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5, 6-4 win over the No. 9 seed from Montreal in a quarterfinal on Wednesday.
He fought hard. He left it all out there. He went toe-to-toe with the favourite to win the @AustralianOpen.
In the end, it wasn’t to be, and Medvedev defeats Félix Auger-Aliassime in a great 5-set comeback, 6-7, 3-6, 7-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Canada is proud, @felixtennis! pic.twitter.com/u2qexS00iz
— Tennis Canada (@TennisCanada) January 26, 2022
Medvedev, who became the top-ranked player in the season-opening Grand Slam after Novak Djokovic was deported from the country, fought off a match point with serve while trailing 5-4 in the second set.
Medvedev then staved off three break points on his first service game in the fifth set. Immediately after that hold that tied it at 1-1, Medvedev recorded the decisive break as Auger-Aliassime double-faulted twice in the game.
Auger-Aliassime had a trainer come out to look at his right ankle after he held serve to narrow the deficit to 3-2 in the fifth set.
The Canadian had another break-point opportunity trailing 4-3, but Medvedev unleashed a service winner en route to the hold.
But it still wasn’t over. Medvedev fell behind 15-40 with serve and up 5-4 before fighting back for the win.
Medvedev won the most recent Grand Slam — the 2021 U.S. Open — and lost to Djokovic in last year’s Australian Open final.
The 21-year-old Auger-Aliassime was 0-3 against Medvedev coming into the match, including a loss in straight sets in last year’s U.S. Open semifinal — the Canadian’s best performance at a Grand Slam — and a 6-4, 6-0 defeat at the ATP Cup earlier this month in Australia.
Medvedev will now face No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the semifinals. Tsitsipas leads the head-to-head series 5-2, including wins in the last five matches.
No. 6 seed Rafael Nadal of Spain, bidding for a record 21st Grand Slam title, takes on No. 7 seed Matteo Berrettini of Italy in the other semifinal. Nadal outlasted Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in a five-set quarterfinal on Tuesday.
