Daniil Medvedev faced a different challenge at the 2022 Australian Open, but once again he found the answer to advance to the quarter-finals for a second time.
The second seed survived a splendid service and volley display by the tenacious American Maxime Cressy and beat him 6-2, 7-6, 6-7, 7-5 in 3 hours 30 minutes at Margaret Court Arena.
The Russian nationality returned the ball from behind the baseline area in order to overcome Cressy’s play which controlled the net area throughout the match. He managed to secure a set point at 5-6, 30/40 in the second, leveling up the game at key moments, while showing patience to keep his chances in pursuit of the Australian Open title.
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“He served really well and volleyed well. In the first set I was in control, but in the second I didn’t manage to break it. It won the tiebreak and just wanted to keep playing like that. When I lost in the third set and got eight break points in the fourth set, I fueled myself even more. Some of them I managed to win but he played well. In the last game, I played well,” explained Daniil Medvedev.
Cressy’s serve and volley strategy have had success this season as she made it to the semifinals of the Melbourne Summer Set before advancing to the fourth round of the Australian Open.
The 24-year-old American, who won 66 percent of the points contested in the NT area, put pressure on the 2021 US Open champions throughout the match, but was ultimately unable to find a way to overcome the world number 2 in their first meeting.
With this victory, the 25-year-old Medvedev extends his Grand Slam achievements on hard courts. He recorded 13-1 at the Australian Open and US Open 2021 season.
Medvedev, who has lost just two sets so far in Melbourne, reached the final of the Australian Open last season before losing to Novak Djokovic, but this season he will be looking to go one step better and before that. He will have to face ninth seed Felix Auger Aliassime one after another place in the semifinals. To date he has dominated head to head against Auger Aliassime by 3-0, including winning their last meeting in the ATP Cup earlier in the 2022 season.
Medvedev became the fifth Russian man in the Open Era to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals more than once, joining Yevgeny Kafelnikov (5), Nikolay Davydenko (4), Aleksandar Metreveli (3) and Marat Safin (3).
