Daniil Medvedev overcame Emil Ruusuvuori in a very late match that finished almost 4 hours after midnight in Melbourne at the 2024 Australian Open.
When the two stepped out to play the final match of this Thursday's schedule at the Rod Laver Arena, they kind of knew they would finish quite late. The match began just short of midnight, and even if it went to three sets, it was likely going to finish late.
Neither really expected the match to go over 4 hours and then basically encountering the birds chirping early in the morning, but that's what happened.
It was a very competitive affair as Ruusuvuori opened it better. He jumped all over the Russian with his tremendous ball striking, forcing him into many unforced errors.
Something similar happened in the second set as Ruusuvuori jumped out to an early lead but allowed Medveded to come back and take a 5-3 lead. He didn't hold it as the set went into a tie-break, which the Finnish player won, putting Medvedev in a very tough spot.
A bathroom break used by both players reset things for Medvedev, who would jump out to a 4-1 lead, which was enough for him to win the third set 6-4. The fourth set was another one, which was a fast start for Medvedev, but he lost his one-break lead, only a few games away from making it 2-2 in sets.
He would still win the set in the tie-break, sending the match into a decider. That one was another quick start for the Russian as he took an early 3-0 lead and, from there, cruised to a rather simple finish.
The final score was 3-6, 6-7(1), 6-4, 7-6(1), 6-0 in a match that finished at 3:39 am local time after 4 hours and 22 minutes of play. That's a problem the event organizers wanted to avoid this year by introducing a new schedule, but it didn't help.
It didn't help because Iga Swiatek took over 3 hours to win her match. Carlos Alcaraz needed over 3 hours to win his match, which ushed the night session back a little bit. Elena Rybakina and Anna Blinkova took almost three hours to complete their match, making this one a late start and obviously a late finish.
Emil Ruusuvuori vs Daniil Medvedev Match Stats:
| Emil Ruusuvuori | Daniil Medvedev | |
| 1 | Aces | 23 |
| 4 | Double Faults | 8 |
| 62% | First Serve % | 59% |
| 58% (63/109) | Points Won After First Serve % | 70% (73/104) |
| 53% (36/68) | Points Won After Second Serve % | 45% (32/71) |
| 28% (5/18) | Break Point Conversion | 50% (8/16) |
| 50 | Winners | 51 |
| 74 | Unforced Errors | 63 |
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