MELBOURNE, Australia - Daniil Medvedev was down 2-0 in sets, running low on confidence and one point from a quarterfinal exit at the Australian Open, so he asked himself this: What would Novak do?
Fair question. Top-ranked Novak Djokovic is a nine-time Australian Open champion who finished a U.S. Open title short of a calendar-year Grand Slam in 2021.
Modeling himself after the 20-time major winner, Medvedev told himself late Wednesday to make Felix Auger-Aliassime fight for every point.
More than one hour after saving a match point on his serve in the fourth set, the reigning U.S. Open champ finished off a 6-7 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5, 6-4 comeback victory almost a half-hour after midnight.
"He was playing insane, like better than I have ever seen him play," Medvedev said of Auger-Aliassime, a 21-year-old Canadian who lost to Medvedev in straight sets in a U.S. Open semifinal this past September. "It was unreal. So third set, I had zero confidence in myself and in the outcome of the match."
Medvedev mentioned his thoughts about Djokovic during his on-court TV interview and in a later news conference. He wasn't joking.
"I was not playing my best, and Felix ... was all over me," the 25-year-old Russian said. "I didn't know what to do, so I (asked) myself, 'What would Novak do?' And I just thought, OK, I'm going to make him work. If he wants to win it, he has to ... fight to the last point."
Medvedev will have to recover quickly to play Friday against 2021 French Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in a rematch from last year's semifinals at Melbourne Park. Medvedev won at the same stage last year but lost in the final to Djokovic, who wasn't allowed to enter the tournament this month after he failed to meet Australia's strict COVID-19 vaccination rules and was deported.
Tsitsipas, 23, had a much easier path to the semifinals, beating No. 11 Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 earlier on the 10th day of the year's first major, when both men's quarterfinals had mid-match delays because of rain Wednesday.
Medvedev got a six-minute break at 2-1 in the third-set tiebreaker for the roof on Rod Laver Arena to be closed, and it swung the momentum mostly his way. Auger-Aliassime won only one of the last six points in the tiebreaker after dominating for the first two sets.
Serving for the match, Medvedev had to save two break points - he saved six of six in the set and nine of 11 overall - before closing out his win in the 4-hour, 42-minute quarterfinal. He is two wins from becoming the first man in the Open era to win his second Grand Slam title in the next major tournament after his first.
Medvedev, now 4-0 against Auger-Aliassime, finished with 49 winners and 53 unforced errors. He served 15 aces but also had nine double-faults. Medvedev is ranked second and so has been effectively the No. 1 seed since Djokovic was sent packing after an 11-day visa saga.
Another who could benefit from Djokovic's absence is Rafael Nadal. The 35-year-old Spaniard, seeking his 21st major men's singles title to take sole possession of the record he shares with Djokovic and Roger Federer, will play Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini, a 25-year-old Italian, in the other semifinal.
Berrettini and Nadal will both be coming off five-setters followed by a day of rest. On Tuesday, Berrettini defeated No. 17 Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, while Nadal beat 14th-seeded Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3.