Daniil Medvedev became the highest seed to fall in the French Open singles after losing to Australian Alex de Minaur in the men’s fourth round.
Russian fifth seed Medvedev, 28, was defeated 4-6 6-2 6-1 6-3 at Roland Garros.
Medvedev required treatment for blisters on his feet in the second set and lost nine of the next 10 matches upon returning from a medical timeout.
The former world number one, who never advanced beyond the quarter-finals of the French Open, improved in the fourth set after leaving the court again.
But a poor backhand into the net produced a break point at 3-3, which De Minaur grabbed in spectacular fashion with an inside-out forehand winner that kissed the line.
De Minaur used his speed on the pitch excellently to keep the points alive throughout and drew mistakes from his frustrated opponent.
While Medvedev thundered at his team, De Minaur remained calm to hold the love and move a game away from victory.
Medvedev mishit a forehand well behind the baseline at 30-30 5-3 and a double fault from the 2021 US Open champion on match point was an unfortunate way to end.
De Minaur is the first Australian to reach the quarter-finals of Roland Garros since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004.
Having never made it past the second round in Paris, De Minaur shouted: “I love it here!” as he celebrated it.
Throughout the match, the 25-year-old was again egged on by a young superfan, who he credited with helping him beat Jan-Lennard Struff in the third round.
De Minaur said he was inspired by seeing the boy enthusiastically cheering every point and tracked him down on social media to invite him to the match.
The youngster sat close to De Minaur’s team with a few friends, and all three sang, cheered and celebrated in the Australian’s favor after every point.
De Minaur will play either German fourth seed Alexander Zverev or Danish 13th seed Holger Rune in the quarterfinals.
