Medvedev sees off Borges to reach Australian Open quarter-finals

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.

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.