Berrettini Survives 5-Set Battle With Alcaraz, Nadal Advances At Australian Open; Medvedev Tonight

The match of the day on the men’s first day of third round play at the Australian Open lived up to the hype as Matteo Berrettini went the distance to deny 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz in a thriller 6-2, 7-6(3), 4-6, 2-6, 7-6(10-5) in 4 hours, 10 minutes.

Up two sets, a weary-looking Alcaraz looked done, but it was Berrettini who’s level dropped and suddenly the teen and his last groundstrokes was in the match again.

Both would have break chances in the decider, but Berrettini rose up to the challenge in the breaker, connecting on some blistering shots.

“I felt confident, and that momentum was on my side in the third set but then I got broken,” Berrettini said. “My energy wasn’t right in the fourth set and in the fifth I just started to think about fighting for every point. In every match something happens but I fought through it.”

Alcaraz actually out-aced Berrettini 12 to 10, but he finished just 4 of 13 on break chances. He had beaten Berrettini in a final set breaker in Vienna last October.

“I’m very proud of the performance today,” Alcaraz said. “It was my first time two sets down and then to be able to come back the way I did.

“I gave everything on the court.”

Berrettini will now meet another Spaniard in Pablo Carreno Busta. The 2-time US Open semifinalist edged Sebastian Korda in four sets 6-4, 7-5, 6-7(6), 6-3.

Gael Monfils overcame a mini-break deficit in the opener to beat Cristian Garin 7-6(4), 6-1, 6-3. The Adelaide champ has won seven of his eight matches this year, and hasn’t dropped a set this week. He’ll now face a Serb but not Novak Djokovic. It will be Miomir Kecmanovic who continues to make the most of the world No. 1 deportation by reaching the fourth round after a tough 4-set win over Lorenzo Sonego.

Denis Shapovalov hung tough to beat Reilly Opelka 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Up next will be Alexander Zverev who rolled Radu Albot 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

“It’s amazing, this is probably my favorite court, because I’ve never lost a match here and I hope it continues this way,” Zverev said of John Cain Arena. “The support has been incredible, it’s really fun to play in front of all you guys again, and hopefully it will be another good four matches for me.”

In the evening, playing his first top player since the French, Rafael Nadal look good in dismissing Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.

“It is a very special week for me, coming back,” Nadal said in his on-court interview. “Every single time I am able to play here is very special. Tonight I played against a great player and a good friend on Tour. It was my best match since I have come back without a doubt.”

In his 15th Australian Open fourth round, Nadal will meet Adrian Mannarino after the Frenchman upset 2021 semifinalist Aslan Karatsev 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-4 in a match that ended just after 2:30am local time.

Today in Melbourne, tournament favorite Daniil Medvedev returns along with Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev.