Australian Open 2022: Daniil Medvedev eases through as Stefanos Tsitsipas overcomes Benoit Paire | Tennis News

Russian second seed Daniil Medvedev needed just under two hours to overcome his Dutch opponent; Stefanos Tsitsipas hailed the “special” atmosphere on the Rod Laver Arena and will now meet Taylor Fritz, who is through to the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time in 21 attempts

Daniil Medvedev has reached the fourth round at the Australian Open for a fourth year in succession

Daniil Medvedev eased through to the fourth round of the Australian Open, while Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame Benoit Paire on Saturday in Melbourne.

After the drama of Medvedev’s second-round win over Nick Kyrgios, this was a much more comfortable afternoon at the office for the Russian second seed.

He needed just an hour and 55 minutes to deliver a 6-4 6-4 6-2 victory over Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.

Following his contest with Kyrgios, Medvedev had a few stern words with the crowd during his post-match interview.

With the crowd continuing to perform Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘Siuuu’ celebration, which to many players sounds like booing, Medvedev asked them to respect his on-court interviewer Jim Courier, even if they did not respect him.

This time around, Medvedev did not have the same challenges on the Margaret Court Arena.

“I’ll put it this way. It’s easier to play a guy from Netherlands than a guy from Australia in Australia, in Melbourne,” he said, before then offering some relationship advice to the fans.

“Every good relationship must have it’s ups and downs. I hope it’s going to be more good times than bad times, otherwise it doesn’t work!”

He will next face the Melbourne Summer Set finalist Maxime Cressy, following his 6-2 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 6-2 victory over the wild card Christopher O’Connell.

Stefanos Tsitsipas hit 21 aces during his third-round contest

Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas came into the tournament with concerns over an elbow problem and has been made to work hard to reach the second week.

He is still in contention, though, after beating unpredictable Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-3 7-5 6-7 (2-7) 6-4.

“Benoit is one of the biggest challenges in our game,” Tsitsipas said after the contest.

“He has a lot of talent and feel for the game, so it’s a very important victory for me today. It was special to play in this arena and share it with the crowd.”

Tsitsipas is now set for a fourth-round clash with Taylor Fritz after the American’s five-set win over Roberto Bautista Agut saw him reach the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time in no less than 21 attempts.

Taylor Fritz cut an emotional figure after making it through to the second week of the Australian Open

“It’s huge,” Fritz said. “After the match I was close to tearing up a bit.

“It seems stupid because so many people have made the second week of Slams, but it has eluded me for so long. I’ve had a lot of tough draws and I’ve never had a great look at it.”

Jannik Sinner overcame Taro Daniel 6-4 1-6 6-3 6-1 on the Kia Arena to book his place in the fourth round for the first time.

Sinner is seeded 11th and after two quick matches he had to work much harder against Daniel, who had beaten Andy Murray in the previous round.

His two-hour, 41-minute victory booked him a meeting with Australian 32nd seed Alex de Minaur.

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