Danill Medvedev has explained how he was only going to get to bed at 6.30am after another ridiculously late night at the Australian Open office.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The weary Russian made his revelation at 3.45am on Friday, talking on the Rod Laver Arena to the few hardy remaining fans who had stayed to watch his epic late-night comeback win from two sets down to beat Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori 3-6 6-7 (1) 6-4 7-6 (1) 6-0.
Sunrise was still a couple of hours away, with the third seed telling his supporters after his four hour 23 minute contest that he would probably get to bed by about 6.30 "hopefully".
That one of the top contenders, a two-time finalist, should once again have his entire schedule compromised by the scheduling - Medvedev didn't enter the arena to play until 11.07pm - felt faintly ludicrous, especially now organisers have added another day to the Open programme.
But Medvedev treated his trial with considerable equanimity, preferring to paise the crowd for their staying power than to bemoan his own misfortune after the match finished at 3.39am.
"Tough, tough tough," he said with a rueful smile after the latest finish at an Open match this year, even if it wasn't quite in the league of Andy Murray's post-4am win over Thanasi Kokkinakis in 2023, nor the famous 4.34am job when Lleyton Hewitt beat Marcos Baghdatis in 2008.
Asked in his on-court interview when he was likely to get to bed and how he would prepare for his next match against tough Canadian No. 27 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, Medvedev shrugged: "I don't know, probably, hopefully 6.30?
"Second question is 'do I do the physio?' If I don't do the physio, I think I don't go out and play in two days.
"If I do the physio, I will see how much I sleep. Maybe if I can sleep from 6 to 12, then some easy practice tomorrow.
"But, look it can tough, it's not easy - but I want to try to win and I will give my everything, and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work."
As for the crowd, he couldn't help telling them: "Honestly guys... I would not be here. Thanks for staying. If I was a tennis fan, at one o'clock, I'd say, 'okay let's go and catch the end of the match on TV'. So thanks guys - you're strong."
So was Medvedev. He reckoned he felt exhausted by the time he had even got on the court because he'd done so much on-and-off warming up while Elena Rybakina and Anna Blinkova were still playing their epic deciding half-an-hour tiebreak in the preceding match.
Medvedev needed treatment on a blistered foot, kept swapping racquets because he was unhappy with their string tension, and found himself up against an inspired opponent for two sets before he gradually began to wear down Ruusuvuori.
"I'm happy I hung tough," he smiled. "This one is going to for sure stay in my memory."
Australian Associated Press
