World number three Daniil Medvedev struggled to contain the power of Portugal's Nuno Borges at the Australian Open on Monday but the Russian emerged with a 6-3 7-6(4) 5-7 6-1 victory to reach quarter-finals.
Twice a runner-up at Melbourne Park, Medvedev squandered a big lead in the third set but got back on track in the fourth to set up a last eight meeting with Pole Hubert Hurkacz, who beat French wild card Arthur Cazaux.
"Third set was tough physically because he was playing very aggressive," said Medvedev.
"Like, as I soon as I would hit one shot in a rally that was not aggressive or deep enough, he would go full power. It was pretty impressive.
"I didn't play long enough or good enough, missed too much, some double faults."
The 27-year-old, who reached the final in 2021 and 2022, was rock solid in the first set, where he did not face a single break point, and pulled away from Borges after building a 4-2 lead to seal the set in 35 minutes.
World number 69 Borges, who reached the fourth round by stunning 13th seed Grigor Dimitrov, came out fighting in the second set, mixing up his game with delicate drop shots and traded breaks with his opponent before fading in the tiebreak.
The Portuguese 26-year-old looked on course for a straight sets defeat as former U.S. Open champion Medvedev edged ahead in the third after recovering from a break but things began to fall apart for the Russian.
After saving four break points to hold for 5-2 he wasted two match points as the double faults began to pile up.
Borges continued to serve and volley with devastating effect and claimed five successive games to pull a set back.
Fans hoping for an upset were left disappointed, however, as Medvedev steadied the ship and sailed through the fourth set, which he claimed when Borges went long with a forehand.
"I hoped it wouldn't be five sets. I'm happy it wasn't," said Medvedev, who was taken the distance by Emil Ruusuvuori earlier in the tournament.
"Before this match I was feeling 100% but he made me run.
"That's why I missed so much in the third set, I was pretty dead. In the fourth I managed to raise my energy levels and now I'm tired again. One day off, I should be okay," concluded Medvedev.
Published 22 January 2024, 10:09 IST