Daniil Medvedev, the two-time runner-up, defeated Nuno Borges of Portugal in a tough match to secure a spot in the Australian Open quarterfinals on Monday.
After more than three hours on Rod Laver Arena, the brave world number 69 forced the Russian third seed to fight hard before they overcame the line 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 5-7, 6-1.
For a spot in the final four, he will face Hubert Hurkacz, a Polish player ranked ninth.
Borges’ lack of experience was ultimately exposed; prior to the Australian Open this year, he had never won back-to-back Tour-level matches outside of Davis Cup.
Borges made 66 unforced errors compared to Medvedev’s 34, which was the main difference.
Nevertheless, the 26-year-old, who became the first Portuguese player to advance past the second week in Melbourne, put out a commendable effort.
In the opening set, Medvedev’s baseline strength was particularly noticeable. The Russian dominated lengthy rallies, breaking only once in the sixth game.
In the second set, Borges fought valiantly to even the score at three points, but eventually gave in to the Russian’s relentless groundstrokes and lost the break.
However, the world number three soon became distracted, and the set was leveled at 30-40 in the next game after his fourth double fault of the match.
In the tie-break, Medvedev prevailed after enduring another double fault.
In the third set, the Russian maneuvered to within one game at 5-4, but Borges would not go down without a fight, breaking before winning the next two games to salvage the match.
For Medvedev, who was a new man in the fourth set and breezed through it in 24 minutes as Borges faltered, it was a wake-up call.
