“I was just trying to win one more”: Daniil Medvedev on trying to stop Tien during a brutal 11-game losing stretch

Daniil Medvedev expressed his disappointment after being eliminated in the 4th round of the Australian Open by Learner Tien. The Russian suffered a painful defeat, losing 11 games in a row to a spectacular Tien, who closed the match 6-4, 6-0, 6-3, not dropping serve and breaking Medvedev up to 7 times.

“Yeah, it’s true. I mean, he played too good for me today. Could I do better? I mean, you can always do better if you lose with the scoreline I did,” Medvedev said in the press conference. “But I felt like he had a match probably of his life or not. I mean, it doesn’t matter. He had a good match and I didn’t manage to rival his level. And that’s why basically I lost, and there is nothing to change anymore right now.”

“He played great, super aggressive. Even when I was making good shots, he was making a better shot back,” added the 2021 US Open champion. “So I didn’t find many solutions today on the court, which is rare. And I didn’t feel that many times in my life like this.”

“He had an unbelievable match where everything went in. It did happen to me as well a couple of times. And you even kind of feel sorry for your opponent because you’re like, okay, I can go for a winner now and probably with closed eyes and make it. It happens. I should have done maybe something a bit better to try to disturb this rhythm of his.”

The Russian had come from a hard-fought five-set win over Fabian Marozsan, in which he recovered from two sets down to win 6-7, 4-6, 7-5, 6-0, 6-3, but he denied that the physical effort in the third round affected him against Tien.

“I don’t think so. I mean, the match with Fabian was for sure intense, but it was not even four hours,” he said. “I felt fine. Yeah, for me it was not about the legs today, it was just about the tennis. So in my opinion, not physically. Physically I was fine.”

Against Tien, Medvedev endured a negative streak, as Tien won 11 consecutive games, from 5-4 in the first set to 4-0 in the third set. It was also the first time someone bageled Medvedev in a Grand Slam draw.

“I was just trying to win one more (game), and the one I won was not easy. I don’t know if he had a break point, but for sure it was a couple of deuce points. I mean, I was trying to figure out what can I do to kind of disturb his level that he had at this moment.”

After breaking the streak in the third set, he managed to hold three games in a row, but it was not enough for a comeback. “I guess I did something, because it became 4-3. And I even felt like, you know what, 4-3, it’s a small chance. And then, well, there was not a big chance finally. But that’s how I am, no matter the score. I try to win one game at first, maybe one more after. The matches can turn a bit more probably in women’s tennis, but in men’s tennis as well, we saw some crazy things. So I just try to say to myself, like, to the last point, try to fight. And then the last point was not for me this time.”

For Medvedev, there are mixed feelings after the painful defeat. The three-time Australian Open finalist surpassed all his Grand Slam results from 2025, when he barely reached the second round in Melbourne and was eliminated in the first round at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open. This time, he reached the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2024 US Open.

In recent months, Medvedev has raised his level and results, although he has not reached the standards we were used to. “Yeah, I think I should focus more in general,” said the former world No. 1. “If we take the last eight tournaments, let’s say starting from the US Open, so I don’t know if it’s eight or nine, I played great. I beat a lot of players, I played great against some top players, and in general I was going far in the results."

"Even here I won two very tough matches against opponents who played well, Halis and Fabian. So I should try not to focus on this exact match, which was not good, because he outplayed me, so that’s not a good feeling. But I should focus more on the general picture and just continue working the way I did for the last tournaments.”

Since parting ways with long-term coach Giles Cervara, Medvedev has regained consistency, winning two ATP titles (Almaty and Brisbane) and returning to deep runs in Grand Slams. He is currently ranked No. 11 in the live rankings. “If I manage to play good, beat all the players I have beaten in all these tournaments, I can get where I want,” he added. “Of course, it’s unfortunate to finish a Grand Slam like this when I was feeling well and confident, but it is what it is.”