Daniil Medvedev is only one victory away from playing a third final at the Australian Open after 2021 and 2022. The Russian invited himself into the last four by dominating Hubert Hurkacz in five sets (7-6 [4]2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4) and 3h59 of play which brings his time spent on court since the first round to 16h15.
As often since the start of the tournament, Gilles Cervara’s student left feathers on the court. A set lost en route in the first round and in the round of 16 against Terence Atmane then Nuno Borges, the first two against Emil Ruusuvuori in the 2nd round and two additional against the Pole ranked 9th in the world, therefore, this Wednesday.
Medvedev had however made the best start, making the entry break in a game where, with his shoulder still rusty, Hurkacz only passed one first ball out of five. By the time the machine got going, Arthur Cazaux’s knockout in the round of 16 was back on track.
In the tie-break that followed, Medvedev used his defensive qualities to force his opponent to make a mistake and win 7 points to 4. “Hubi” nevertheless had impressive serving stats: 67% first serves, 92% points gained behind them. But his 16 unforced errors for 13 winning shots weighed heavily.
A culpable relaxation from the Russian cost him a break at the start of the second round. He saved two 0-3 double break balls, before letting his opponent equalize 6-2.
But everything seemed to be back to normal when the world No. 3 took the advantage after winning the third set and the opponent’s service from the start of the fourth. After receiving a warning for an extremely rare gesture of irritation, at 3-1 in favor of the Russian, the very placid Hurkacz immediately achieved a full aces shutout.
Nothing like it to get him back in the saddle and go for the break at 4-3, by achieving two winning climbs to the net at 30A on the opposing serve. It didn’t take much to derail an increasingly exasperated Medvedev who lost the set (7-5) on a trivial forehand mistake.
We then thought that Medvedev would increase his negative ratio of matches in five sets (5 wins for 10 losses before this one). But at 3-3 in the decisive round, he unleashed an impeccable return game, symbolized by this first service from Hurkacz to the body, swung at 224 km/h, at 15-40 but returned by the Russian who took the trades on his own to get the break at the net.
The next play turned the end of the match into madness. Serving at 4-3, Medvedev saved a break point on a hussar serve-volley. Hurkacz resisted at the end of a sumptuous exchange concluded at the net and with the help of it.
But the Russian had the last word and then served at 5-4: after saving a first match point at 40-15 after an exchange of 21 racket strokes, Hurkacz gave up, trapped by a cushioned shot from Medvedev delicately placed behind the net.
