Medvedev Praises Hardy Australian Open Fans After 3:40 AM Finish

Daniil Medvedev admitted to loyal Australian Open fans "I would not be here" after he fought back to beat Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori from two sets down in a match that ended at 3:40 am on Friday. The world number three, who took to the court late on Thursday, overcame the world number 53 by 3-6, 6-7 (1/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/1), 6-0 in four hours and 23 minutes on a chilly Rod Laver Arena. The second round match stretched well into the early hours even though tournament organisers added a day this year in an effort to curb late-night finishes.

"This one is going for sure to stay in my memory," the Russian told the few remaining spectators on the echoing court, bundled up against the cold.

"Honestly guys, I would not be here.

"Thanks for staying. If I would be a tennis fan... at 1:00 am I would be like 'OK, let's go home, were going to catch the end of the match on the TV. We're going to watch 30 minutes and then go to bed', so I guess thanks guys, you are strong."

The players were made to wait to get on court because the preceding match between Anna Blinkova and women's third seed Elena Rybakina lasted two hours and 46 minutes -- including an epic 22-20 tie-break won by Blinkova that stretched more than half an hour.

Earlier, women's world number one Iga Swiatek and men's second seed Carlos Alcaraz each played on the court for more than three hours, both coming out on top.

Medvedev, who will play Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third round, admitted that waiting to play the match in Melbourne had been "very tough".

"The toughest was the tie-break," said the two-time runner-up.

"With tennis, you never know when you have to eat, when you have to warm up and so here it was too early because I thought the match was going to be