Daniil Medvedev (27) was just two balls away from elimination in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, and for only the fourth time in his career, and the second time during the ongoing tournament, he turned an unfavorable 0:2 into sets. Now, the three-time finalist of the season’s opening Grand Slam defeated rival Alexander Zverev (26) 5:7, 3:6, 7:6, 7:6, 6:3 after more than four hours of fighting, and on Sunday he will fight for his second Grand Slam title. The former US Open champion will play against Jannik Sinner (22).
Medvedev – Zverev 5:7, 3:6, 7:6, 7:6, 6:3
Daniil Medvedev is in the final of the Australian Open for the third time. In the year 2021, he was clearly not enough for Novak Djokovic and the year before, he threw away a two-set lead against Rafael Nadal. After the crushing defeat, he fell into a roughly year-long crisis, which he only ended last February on the popular concrete.
The former leader of the ranking collected four trophies on hard surfaces and gradually climbed back into the TOP 10 and the top four of the world ranking. He even captured his first triumph on clay courts at the Masters in Rome. However, since then, the US Open 2023 finalist and former champion of the US Big Four event has been waiting for another trophy.
He decided to start this season only at the opening Grand Slam of the year, and he is not yet in his best form in Melbourne, which is confirmed by the lost set with Terence Atman and Nun Borges, as well as the lack of two sets in the second round duel with Emil Ruusuvuori. However, the Russian tennis player shows his enormous strength and rich experience in key moments, during the tournament he already played the third five-set battle and for the second time turned the situation 0:2 into sets. Overall, he managed it for only the fourth time in his career out of 20 attempts.
Match statistics. (@livesport)
With Alexander Zverev, he won five out of six fights last year, he started the rivalry with the best German tennis player brilliantly this year as well and adjusted the mutual balance to 12:7. Despite the loss of a significant number of forces, he bet on defense in the opening two sets. He had this as traditionally excellent, however, he interspersed it with unnecessary unforced errors and it was evident that Zverev has more strength for long and brutal exchanges, which were seen countless times.
That’s how the start of their 19th showdown, the first time at the Grand Slams, looked like. Zverev made it really difficult to win the opening act when he didn’t keep the lead of two breaks, didn’t serve the set and finally won it after an hour and two more broken break points with a ratio of 7:5. In the second set, on the other hand, he did not offer his rival a single break point chance, added a fourth and a fifth break, and after less than two hours he reached the final.
51 SHOTS
This incredible point won by Zverev in the 1st set
( @Eurosport_FR) pic.twitter.com/EsoPKE7W3q
— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) January 26, 2024
From the beginning of the third set, we witnessed a great spectacle, in which both actors hit more winning balls than unforced errors. It was fairly decided by a tie-break, which was won 7:4 by Medvedev, who was playing better and better, and tried to shorten the exchanges.
He applied the changed tactics in the fourth act and also succeeded in it in a shortened game, although he made a double fault at 4:4 and Zverev was able to take the match to a winning end on serve. At 5:5, however, Medvedev hit a lucky return just behind the net, which Zverev couldn’t catch, and ended the set with an ace.
After less than four hours, the decisive set came. Medvedev celebrated the first break since the second set in the fifth game after cheap errors from Zverev’s racket, who apparently could not stop that the momentum was shifting to the opponent’s side. Medvedev did not allow Zverev a single break point in the third set in a row and finally ended the match on the return.
Medvedev improved his record in the semi-finals of Grand Slams to 6:2, and is looking forward to advancing to the final on a hard surface for the sixth time. In contrast, he has a highly negative success rate of 1:4 in final duels at the companies of the big four. He received the trophy for the champion only at the US Open 2021, where he beat a nervous Djokovic without losing a set, who was attacking the calendar Grand Slam.
“I’m happy that I turned 0:2 into sets here for the second time. I didn’t do it well before. Physically and mentally, the fifth set is very demanding and I was often not strong enough in it. A month ago I started working on he was mentally more resilient and didn’t let the audience or the referee throw him off so much. I try to concentrate even more in moments like this. I still can’t do it 100 percent, but I’m trying.” Medvedev said on the court.
He will not face a member of the Big Three until his sixth Grand Slam final. This time he will face Jannik Sinner, who knocked out the most successful player of the tournament, Djokovic, a few hours earlier, and will enter his first major final. He has a 6-3 head-to-head record over the Italian, but has lost the last three meetings.
Alexander Zverev has two career losses from 2-0 up in sets. Two of the biggest matches of his career.
2020 US Open final
2024 AusOpen semifinals.He was 18-2 in the last 20 5th sets before today…
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) January 26, 2024
Zverev, who returned last season after a half-year break caused by torn ligaments in his ankle and made his way back into the top ten rankings, only missed the lead of two sets for the second time in his career.
It first happened to him in his only Grand Slam final at the 2020 US Open against Dominic Thiem. He worsened his record with TOP 10 players at Grand Slams to three wins and 15 defeats.
Australian Open men’s singles results
The article was originally published for Livesport News.
2024-01-26 14:48:45
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