The quarter final line up was completed on Monday and there were no surprises with Hubert Hurkacz, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz progressing into the last eight with only the second seeded Spaniard, progressing in straight sets.
Cam was playing amazing tennis and I’m just happy to be through Alexander Zverev
The match of the day featured Cameron Norrie, the British No.1, who kept Zverev, the sixth seed busy for four-hours and five-minutes before the German finally got the better of him, 7-5 23-6 6-3 4-6 7-6(3) in the final set tie-break.
Up to that point, as the score-line suggests, it was a seesaw of a match and it was only that final set tie-break which proved to be the difference as Zverev stormed through to take it 10-3 thereby preventing the British No.1 from posting the best win of his career.
Norrie twice battled back from a set down to force that final set tie-break, where, despite his famous fitness, he ran out of steam, unable to continue to force the issue with the German.
He had promised to add variety and a more attacking approach to his game for this season and that was very evident, not only in this match, but in all of his previous three.
There was always a concern that the wrist injury he picked up in the warm-up event in Auckland, would affect his game but that has not proved to be the case.
Alexander Zverev shakes hands with Cameron Norrie after their marathon five setter.
(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
“At the end of the day this is a Grand slam and everybody is playing their best here,” Zverev said during his on-court interview.
“Cam was playing amazing tennis and I’m just happy to be through.”
Zverev now has the task of getting past Alcaraz, the second seed and the one player everyone thinks could well prevent Novak Djokovic from collecting his 11th Australian Open title.
And on his current performance, that is a strong possibility as he beat Miomir Kecmanovic in straight sets to reach the quarter finals in Melbourne for the first time.
Deploying his powerful forehand to great effect, he blasted past the Serbian 6-4 6-4 6-0 in just 109-minutes to record the quickest win of the day.
And he was very satisfied with his performance declaring he ‘did almost everything perfectly.”
Currently Zverev leads their head-to-head 4-3 but is clearly aware that he presents a large hurdle to clear..
“Carlos is a guy from the new generation. He’s extremely successful already, more successful than 99% of the guys who have ever touched a tennis racket. He’s also incredibly respectful,” Zverev said.
“Hopefully it is going to be my day.”
Meanwhile, Alcaraz is taking nothing for granted.
“If I play at this level, I will have my chances,” the Spaniard said of his next match.
“He has played some tough matches with tiebreaks in the fifth set. It’s going to be tough for him.
“I love playing against Sascha. I will put one hundred per cent into my best tennis and let’s see what happens.”
Their quarter-final match will take place on Wednesday.
Daniil Medvedev is still confident that he can do damage
(Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
Meanwhile the former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev defeated the Portuguese Nuno Borges 6-3 7-6(4) 5-7 6-1 as he continued his quest for the title having fallen twice in the actual final.
The third seed survived a big wobble to overcome his surprise Portuguese opponent after an excellent start only for his serve to go off song. But he regrouped to go through three-hours and 7-minutes.
“Before this match I was feeling 100%, but he made me run. Third set at the end, that’s why I missed a little bit too much, I was pretty dead,” Medvedev said later on court.
“By missing too much, which I didn’t want to do, I recovered a little and in the fourth set I managed to raise my energy level. Could I have done it at the end of the third, and not been here for a fourth? Now, I’m again pretty tired. The match was good, one day off, and I should be good for the next one.”
Borges, who had claimed the scalps of Grigor Dimitrov and Alejandro Davidovic Fokina in previous rounds, was philosophical following his loss.
“Medvedev’s effect on your game is making you miss a little too much. It’s not like he can push you back too much or hit really hard on the first serve. It’s more likely to be long rallies and just drain you slowly and make you overplay a lot,” the world No.69 explained after their match.
Despite his record at the AO, talk of Medvedev’s title hopes this year have been minimal but the Russian believes he can be a danger to anybody on the Tour if he is on form.
“I know what I’m worth. I know how good I can play.” Medvedev stated.
“I proved it in the US Open, especially for myself, playing some tough opponents. I managed to beat them.
“Hopefully I can show it on the tennis court. We can talk forever about who is ready, who is favourite, but you need to win.”
Medvedev’s next match will be against a player who has caused him trouble in the past, Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, who battled past the young Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 7-6(6) 7-6(3) 6-4 after two-hours and 28-minutes.
“He serves bigger than many guys. I would compare it to something like Nick Kyrgios, very precise and at the same time strong,” Medvedev said of his next opponent.
“He’s in the top two or three servers on tour. It’s hard to return him. I’m going to have my eyes prepared and try to catch everything I can on Wednesday.”
Medvedev is bidding to become the first Russian man to win the Australian Open since Marat Safin in 2005.
Hubert Hurkacz (R) talks to Arthur Cazaux as he prepares to meet Daniil Medvedev.
(Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
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