Cezary Gurjew is observing the events in Melbourne. We invite you to the coverage of the Radio One journalist from the Australian Open 2024.
The third-seeded Russian advanced to the semifinals in Melbourne after a five-set victory over Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. The German, the tournament’s top six, eliminated the world’s second-ranked runner-up, Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
Medvedev is confident. He’s counting on Djokovic and Sinner getting tired
The balance of matches between Medvedev and Zverev is 11-7 in favor of the Russian, so he feels quite confident before Friday’s match, even though so far he has not performed well on his own serve.
– I’m not really worried about it too much, especially since I’m winning games. It’s good that I managed to reach the semi-finals, even though I was broken 18 times – noted the nearly 28-year-old tennis player.
– I think that Novak was also broken often – noted the Russian. Djokovic, who is defending the title in Melbourne, has so far lost eight service games in clashes with Croatian Dino Prizmic, Australian Alexei Popyrin and American Taylor Fritz.
Medvedev, however, sees an explanation for the large number of breaks.
– One side of the court is against the wind. This is a very difficult place to serve, unless you’re serving 220 kilometers per hour like “Hubi”. It is much easier to return from there and put pressure on your opponents. I feel that I serve really well in Melbourne, emphasized the tennis player from Moscow.
In the second semi-final, top-seeded Djokovic will play against Sinner (No. 4).
– I think it will be a great match. If I’m honest – let’s say I’m in the final – when asked who I want to play with: Novak, who has never lost in Melbourne and has crazy statistics, or Jannik, who doesn’t lose a set even when he’s down in the tie-break 1 -5, I think to myself: I don’t know, admitted the Russian.
– I want them to play for seven and a half hours, and the super tie-break in the fifth set ended with the score 30-28. Maybe they’ll be a little tired on Sunday, the tennis player smiled.
He admitted that if he has the opportunity, he will watch the meeting of potential final rivals, which will be played earlier than his fight with Zverev.
– I’m going to be preparing for my match, but if I have some time to watch it, I’ll definitely enjoy it. Their end-of-season competition at the ATP Finals in Turin and the Davis Cup was great, so I will really enjoy this match, said Medvedev.
The big four remain. “It’s the best feeling”
128 players took part in the singles competition, but four days before the end of the event, only the best four remained.
– I always like the moment when tournaments end. Maybe before my first ATP final or second, I thought: wow, that’s strange, there are always so many people at the beginning and then it’s so quiet. It’s even weirder during the Grand Slams, admitted the Russian.
– After two or three finals, I got used to it and it’s actually the best feeling. You know that if there is almost no one left in the tournament, it means you did a great job, there is no one to bother you, it’s just you, so go and try to win the tournament. I like this feeling… I hope I will be here on Sunday – concluded the tennis player from Moscow with a smile.
The men’s singles semi-finals are scheduled for Friday.
Hubert Hurkacz had a great start to the season. “Hubi” showed great tennis, achieved his personal best and went down in the history of Polish tennis. Class is also “Hubie’s” calling card:
What did 2023 look like in tennis? Journalists from the PolskieRadio24.pl portal Bartosz Goluch and Paweł Majewski summarize the events of the last 12 months.
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