Australian Open 2022: Stefanos Tsitsipas beats Taylor Fritz; Medvedev advances
World number four Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to the quarter-final of the 2022 Australian Open on Monday. The Greek survived a stern test from Fritz, beating him 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 after three hours and 22 minutes. Tsitsipas will next face Jannik Sinner, who beat Alex de Minaur. Earlier, Russia's Daniil Medvedev downed Maxime Cressy to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Tsitsipas won a total of 151 points and 53 winners in the match. He fired 19 aces as compared to Fritz's 13. Fritz won 30% of receiving points (48/159) while Tsitsipas claimed 73% of net points (27/37). The latter won 60% (3/5) of break points. Fritz recorded as many as four double faults in the match. Tsitsipas also registered one.
"I gave everything on the court. I am very proud of myself with the way I fought and the way I stay consistent in the crucial moments. I am overwhelmed. The stadium was on fire. It is too good to be true," Tsitsipas said after the match. "I knew it was going to get physical and I kept reminding myself to get in there."
It is the fifth time Tsitsipas has entered the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam. He has reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open twice (2019 and 2021) and the French Open once (2020). Tsitsipas finished as the runner-up of the French Open in 2021. He is yet to win his maiden Grand Slam title. The Greek has improved his five-set record to 8-6.
Tsitsipas now leads Fritz 3-0 in the ATP head-to-head series. The former defeated Fritz twice in 2019 (Paris Masters and Laver Cup). Notably, Fritz was in pursuit of reaching his first quarter-finals at a Grand Slam.
Earlier in the day, world number two Daniil Medvedev overcame Maxime Cressy 6-2, 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 7-5 in three hours and 30 minutes. The former extended his hard-court record at Grand Slams since January 2021 to 13-1. Medvedev finished as the runner-up of the 2021 Australian Open. He won the US Open later that year. He will defeat Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals.
As per ATP, Medvedev has become the fifth Russian man in the Open Era to reach the quarter-finals at the Australian Open more than once. He joined the likes of Yevgeny Kafelnikov (5), Nikolay Davydenko (4), Aleksandar Metreveli (3), and Marat Safin (3).
