A point away, then roof caves in
Canada’s Auger-Aliassime drops five-set heartbreaker after rain delay cools Medvedev down
Félix Auger-Aliassime was one point away from a win over world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and a spot in the Australian Open semifinals. But the young Canadian couldn’t finish the match off, and the Russian veteran made the most of his reprieve.
One hour and 14 minutes later, Medvedev had come back from two sets down to stun Auger-Aliassime 6-7 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5, 6-4.
“You step on the court, you want to have no regrets,” Auger-Aliassime said after the four-hour, 42minute quarterfinal. “I can go back and think I wish I’d made different choices, or wish Daniil didn’t play as well in certain moments. But, yeah, it was a good effort. At the end of the day, I can’t regret the effort that I put in, and the chances I gave myself.”
The 21-year-old from Montreal was in control for much of the early going against a surprisingly erratic Medvedev, 25, who was sweating heavily and grunting with every move. He was searching for solutions, and not finding any holes in Auger-Aliassime’s game.
“I was not playing my best and Félix was playing unbelievable,” Medvedev said. “He was serving unbelievable. He was all over me. I didn’t really know what to do.”
And then, a little rain changed everything. With the Russian serving at 2-1 in the third-set tiebreak, there was a seven-minute delay while the retractable roof was closed and the court dried off with towels.
Medvedev went off court briefly as Auger-Aliassime sat in his chair, muttering to himself. The Russian returned and won five of the next six points, and the third set.
“In the first set and in the tiebreak I was sweating like hell and made a few double faults, because my hand was really slippery,” Medvedev said. “When they closed the roof, I felt the momentum changed and I felt like I could go through the ball better.”
Once the air conditioning kicked in, the temperature inside Rod Laver Arena dropped a good 10 degrees. And that helped. There was no rain for the rest of the match. But the roof remained closed.
Auger-Aliassime conceded that there were small moments of opportunity even before that tiebreak — little openings that, if exploited, might have given him a straightsets win. And in the fourth set, serving to stay in the match at 4-5, Medvedev double-faulted and gifted the Canadian a match point.
And then he wrenched it away with a massive 213 km/h serve, his fastest of the night.
Even then, Auger-Aliassime had opportunities to break early in the fifth set. But every time the door was slightly ajar Medvedev found a solution, or Auger-Aliassime couldn’t quite make the play.
“I told myself: ‘What would Novak (Djokovic) do?’ ” Medvedev said, to a chorus of boos from the Melbourne crowd. “I’m going to make him work. If he wants to win it, he needs to fight for the last point.”
Medvedev changed his return position from well beyond the Melbourne banner behind the baseline, moving up several metres into the court. And he wasted as little time as humanly possible between points on his serve, giving little time for his opponent to get set for the return. Auger-Aliassime’s return effectiveness dropped.
Medvedev came into the net more in the tiebreaks, and when he was behind. And, suddenly, none of the external distractions bothered him. He no longer looked as though he was struggling physically.
For Auger-Aliassime, who had a medical timeout at 2-3 in the fifth set to have some tape added to an already tightly wrapped right ankle, the plan in 2022 is to find the silver lining, no matter what.
“It’s no surprise (Medvedev) is where he is now. He fights, tries to find solutions. He plays well when he needs to,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I think he was just a little bit more clutch than me — a little bit more solid at times.”
“It comes with experience as well, I think. But I’m looking forward to the next time I can put myself in that situation. I believe I can cross the line.”
Auger-Aliassime was looking to reach his second straight Grand Slam semifinal. He made it to the final four of last year’s U.S. Open, where he also lost to Medvedev, the eventual champion. The Montrealer has made it to at least the quarterfinals in his past three Slams.
Medvedev faces French Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday.