Down two sets to love and a break, Daniil Medvedev produced a vintage comeback to overcome world No.47 Fabian Marozsan 6-7(5) 4-6 7-5 6-0 6-3.
MORE: All the scores from AO 2026
It was always going to be a dangerous assignment for the two-time AO finalist.
Marozsan arrived on court with confidence and a proven history of unsettling elite opponents, having claimed notable victories in recent years over top-20 players including Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune and Andrey Rublev, as well as Casper Ruud in Auckland in the lead-in to AO 2026.
In the end, Medvedev was forced to draw on the full breadth of his defensive brilliance, absorbing relentless pressure and extending rallies until the Hungarian finally cracked.
“Well, first of all, I saw you at the end of the first set,” he joked to three-time Australian Open winner Matts Wilander. “I thought, Mats is looking at my not the best match.
“But now I understand why you were there. It was getting close to the end, so you had to be there to interview him!
“It was a tough match… but I managed to stay strong, and I’m happy about it.”
Despite Marozsan’s modest serve speed, the Medvedev stood in his usual returning position deep below the baseline, under the shade, and forced the Hungarian to meet his level for almost four hours.
Ultimately, Medvedev’s 10 aces to Marozsan’s zero made a difference, as did his 10 more winners and a litany of moonballs the world No.12 used to control the pace.
Despite the momentum swinging against him, Marozsan fought hard, but his service game at 2-3 in the final set proved decisive. A double fault and an unforced error at the net opened the door, before Medvedev’s ability to turn defence into offence became too much, forcing one final mistake and allowing the No.11 seed to convert on his fourth break point.
“He played great, and I was like, you know what, if I lose, I lose, but I’m just going try, and I’m just going to fight,” Medvedev said. He becomes the first player at AO 2026 to win a match after losing the opening two sets.
“I was not calm after the first set because I was mad at myself for not doing a bit better,” he continued. “That cost me a bit in the second set, but after the second set, that’s when I was like, I have to let it go. Just think about what I need to do.
“In the fifth, you try to stay calm; it’s a bit tougher. It’s a bit tight, but I managed to hit some good shots.”
Since 2014, Medvedev has found himself trailing by two sets six times and has forced a fifth set on every occasion.
Medvedev has now reached the fourth round at a Grand Slam 18 times throughout his career. Since debuting at the Australian Open in 2017, only four players have done better: Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Rafael Nadal and Jannik Sinner.
The 11th seed now faces Learner Tien in the round of 16.
“We've played three times," the American said. "All of them have been wars. He served for the match all three time."
“I think we both make a lot of balls," he continued. "We both don't give up too many free points. I think naturally that makes the rallies very long, games very long.
“We both don't make it easy on our opponents. So, naturally, we're not making it easy on each other. We both have to work very hard for points and games.”