Sports

Tsitsipas, Medvedev, Rublev reach 4th round of Australian Open

Melbourne, Australia, Feb 13 (efe-epa).- Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Mikael Ymer 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open on Saturday as the Greek regained his shine after hanging by a thread in his previous five-set match.

It turned out to be a cakewalk for Tsitsipas (5) to book a place in the next round of the Australian Open for the second time in his career.

Ymer, who had defeated Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the previous round, was overwhelmed by an intimidating service from the Greek.

Tsitsipas only conceded one break ball in the game that lasted four about an hour and a half.

“He’s someone I’ve known since he was a baby,” said Tsitsipas. “We’re the same generation, same age. He’s a serious opponent. I know he had some good wins in the past couple of rounds.”

He will face Italian Matteo Berrettini (9) or Russian Karen Khachanov (19) in the next round.

The best performance of the Greek on the banks of the Yarra was in the 2019 edition after losing to the Spanish Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4, and 6-0.

In a nail-biter between Daniil Medvedev between Filip Krajinovic, the Russian defeated the Serb to claim his first five-set win 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-0 to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open for the third consecutive year.

“He played unbelievable, especially in the fourth set,” Medvedev said after the match, following an unusual decision of his French coach Gilles Cervara to leave the court.

That was after the fourth set as Cervara looked angry with Medvedev’s game.

“Third set I had some chances… He raised his level. I tried to change my position on the return in the fifth set and it seemed to be working well, I guess,” the Russian said.

Medvedev will now play Mackenzie McDonald next after the American beat Lloyd Harris of South Africa 7-6 (9-7) 6-1 6-4.

In another match on Saturday, Andrey Rublev beat Feliciano Lopez 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 to reach the round of 16 in Melbourne.

The 39-year-old Spanish began with strong on serve, frustrating the Russian, who found himself under pressure. He, however, returned to the game with strong serving.

López fought until the end despite rowing against the tide on the scoreboard until the final 6-3.

The Spaniard’s record of 75 consecutive Grand Slam competitions is likely to grow further as he intends to continue playing next year as long as he feels competitive.

Rublev will now play Norwegian Casper Ruud (24). EFE-EPA

jcs-ssk

Related Articles

Back to top button