Daniil Medvedev’s triumph over world number one Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon on Tuesday wasn’t just another victory. It marked a significant milestone in the tournament’s history, becoming the 36th men’s match this year to stretch to a grueling five sets, a new record for a single Grand Slam tournament. The Russian fifth seed emerged victorious after an intense four-hour battle, securing his place in the semi-finals where he will face Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.
The reigning Wimbledon champion, Alcaraz, has also experienced the demands of five-set matches, needing to go the distance against Frances Tiafoe in round three. While he avoided a similar fate against Tommy Paul on Tuesday, the trend of marathon encounters has become a defining characteristic of this year’s tournament. With five more men’s singles matches left to play, the possibility of further prolonged battles looms large.
When asked about the reason behind the abundance of five-set clashes, Medvedev pointed to the surface as a possible contributing factor. “I don’t know. Maybe the level is closer than before,” the 28-year-old told reporters. He added, “In my opinion, grass is always a surface where it’s very tough to win like straight three sets. One break can decide the outcome of the set. You do one bad game on your serve, double-fault, easy miss or something like this, you lose the set. It’s more about grass court tennis itself.”
The longest match in the men’s singles this year was a thrilling five-set encounter between Thanasi Kokkinakis and Felix Auger-Aliassime, a match that spanned a remarkable four hours and 38 minutes. This, along with the numerous other lengthy battles, highlights the close competition and the unpredictable nature of the grass courts at Wimbledon, making for a truly captivating tournament.
