Melbourne, Jan 25 (IANS) Daniil Medvedev’s Australian Open campaign came to a shocking end on Sunday as the world No. 11 was knocked out in the fourth round by 25th seed Learner Tien in straight sets.

The Russian struggled to find his rhythm throughout the contest and went down 4-6, 0-6, 3-6 in a one-sided encounter that lasted just over an hour. It marked one of Medvedev’s earliest exits at the season’s first Grand Slam in recent years.

After posing some challenge to Tien in the first set, the second one proved particularly disastrous for Medvedev, who failed to win a single game as Tien reeled off 11 games in a row at one stage. Despite a brief resistance in the third set, Medvedev could not halt the momentum as the American closed out the match with authority.

Medvedev was unable to cope with Tien’s aggressive play and consistency on return. While the Russian managed six aces, his overall effectiveness on serve was well below par, winning just 58 per cent of points on his first serve and a poor 33 per cent on his second.

With this defeat, Medvedev exits the tournament far earlier than expected, while Tien continues his impressive run in Melbourne, reaching the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. He will now face world No.3 Alexander Zverev in semi final.

Meanwhile, home favourite Alex de Minaur played another watertight match to get a top-10 win over Alexander Bublik on his way to the Australian Open quarterfinals for the second successive year.

De Minaur made the most of Bublik’s struggles on first serve early on before cruising through a surprisingly one-sided match 6-4 6-1 6-1.

The world No.6, who could become the first Australian men’s singles champion at the Melbourne major since Mark Edmondson in 1976, next faces world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Tommy Paul earlier on Sunday.

–IANS

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