It’s a little after 3:30 a.m. in Melbourne when Daniil Medvedev can finally raise his arms to the sky. He has just won at the end of an interminable match (4h23) his arm wrestling against Emil Ruusuvuori who was leading two sets to nothing before collapsing in the 2nd round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
When we come to question him courtside, the Russian doesn’t beat around the bush: “What is it, 3:40. Honestly, if I was a tennis fan, I wouldn’t be here (Editor’s note in the stands), so thank you for staying (laughs). I would have said: Let’s go home and watch the end on TV. So thank you, you are strong. »
If Medvedev won in five sets (3-6, 6-7 (1/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/1), 6-0) against the 53rd in the world, the Russian posted on X (formerly Twitter) an unequivocal post. We see a watch with these few words “It’s late”.
A way also to rekindle the controversy over the increasingly legion “Night Sessions” on the world circuit. So much so that the players stepped up to the plate in the face of the fatigue of these night slots. The WTA and ATP have therefore decided to impose stricter rules, such as a ban on starting a match after 11 p.m.
As Medvedev said after the match, “It was very difficult, it took me a long time to get into this match. He was simply better prepared than me at the start of the match.” Victim of a blister, the Russian took a while to find his cruising speed.
Coming from nowhere, Medvedev did the hard part and made short work of the Finn, who felt that the tide had turned. Threatened 6-0, the world number 53 could do nothing against a Medvedev, found and relieved.
Already in the first round, Medvedev was jostled by French qualifier Terence Atmane (144th in the world), before winning 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 1-0 in just over two and a half hours, following the abandonment of his opponent, victim of cramps.
