Epic Aussie Open drama: Daniil Medvedev defies the odds in jaw-dropping comeback

The three-time Australian Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev survived a tough battle in the third round of the tournament and had to come back from two sets down to overcome the Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-7, 4-6, 7-5, 6-0, 6-3. The Russian was on the brink of the abyss in the third set – but recovered from a set down to get back into the match.

The 11th seed returns to the second week in Melbourne for the sixth time in his career – reaching the final three times (2021, ’22, ’24). The renewed Medvedev also reaches a streak of 8 consecutive wins and begins to see a potential return to the top-10 closely.

In the fourth round, he will face the 20-year-old Learner Tien, precisely the player who surprisingly eliminated him in the second round in 2025. This time Medvedev will arrive with more confidence after a strong start to the year, although his rival comes with a year of experience at the top level and is established within the top-30.

It was an especially complicated day for Medvedev on this occasion, who had a tricky rival like Marozsan (No. 47), who several times has surprised top-10 players – including Rune, Ruud, De Minaur, and even Carlos Alcaraz. The duel began with exchanged breaks and a Marozsan who could barely get his first serve in play.

The Hungarian survived a hesitant start and took the lead in the 6th game – but quickly Medvedev returned the break in the next game. With two breaks per side, they reached the tie-break, in which the Hungarian took advantage of a couple of mini-breaks to take the first set 7-6(5).

In the second set, things did not improve for Medvedev, who was making too many mistakes on serve. This time there were three consecutive breaks for Marozsan, and the two breaks from Medvedev’s side were not enough to recover. Medvedev had barely won 50% of points on his first serve and 17% on the second, in addition to committing up to 14 unforced errors, far above the 6 of his rival. The Hungarian took advantage of his opponent’s errors and took the set comfortably 6-3.

The mission at that moment was becoming increasingly complicated, after the third set started with a break in favor of Marozsan – who now only needed to hold his serve to secure one of the most important victories of his career. However, Medvedev reacted in time, and began to improve his effectiveness on serve. He found several break opportunities throughout the set, and after taking the lead he squandered a set point on the return at 5-4. A couple of minutes later, he converted his second opportunity in the 12th game, and recovered hope with a 7-5 in his favor.

Then the Russian’s dominance became evident, with an almost perfect 4th set on his side. He barely gave up two points on serve and was relentless on the return – taking advantage of 3/4 break points to deliver a bagel: 6-0 in just 20 minutes and sending everything to the decisive set.

It was then that Medvedev’s experience became evident to manage the pressure. His first serve ran better than ever in this part of the match, while Marozsan began to appear physically diminished and continued making more errors than in the rest of the match. There were two breaks for Medvedev and one for Marozsan, who conceded his serve for the second time when the score was 3-4, leaving the victory in his rival’s hands.

Medvedev remained calm in the final moments and ended up closing the triumph 6-7, 4-6, 7-5, 6-0, 6-3 and guaranteed his passage to the 4th round at Melbourne Park, where he will face Learner Tien, whom he faced three times in 2025 – with two wins for the American and only one for the former world No. 1 Russian.