Daniil Medvedev said he channeled his inner Novak Djokovic to battle back in his epic 5-hour come-from-behind win

• Daniil Medvedev went two sets down in the Australian Open quarterfinals on Wednesday.
• To turn things around, he said he channeled his inner Novak Djokovic.

Daniil Medvedev said he channeled his inner Novak Djokovic after coming from two sets behind to beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Australian Open quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Youngster Auger-Aliassime surged to a two-set lead at the Rod Laver Arena, winning the first by tie break and the second 6-3.

With Medvedev 2-1 up in a third set tie-break, however, play was stopped for six minutes while the court's roof was closed after it started to rain.

When play resumed, the world number two stormed to a 7-2 win in the tie-break.

Auger-Aliassime came out firing in the fourth set, earning himself a match point, which Medvedev saved with a thumping ace. Thereafter, the Russian found his rhythm and powered to victory, winning the fourth set 7-5 and the fifth 6-4 in a match which took just under five hours to complete.

Speaking after the victory, Medvedev revealed how his mindset switched after he'd saved his opponent's match point.

"I was not playing my best. Felix served unbelievable. He was all over me to be honest," he said. "I didn't really know what to do, so I was like — actually I don't know if people are going to like it — but I told myself, 'What would Novak do?'"

Medvedev's confession prompted boos from the crowd, at which he laughed.

"And what came to mind, because he's one of the greatest champions, or Rafa [Nadal] or Roger [Federer] to be honest, they won so many matches like this.

"And I just thought, 'OK, I'm gonna make him work. If he wants to win it he's going to have to fight until the last point.'"

—Wide World of Sports (@wwos) January 26, 2022

Medvedev also credited the closing of the roof with helping shift the momentum of the match in his favor.

"When they closed the roof I felt the momentum change in my game, I felt that I could go through the court more, serve better," he said.

"Yeah, I just started playing better."

Medvedev faces Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals on Friday, while Rafael Nadal plays Italy's Matteo Berrettini in the other semi.