Daniil Medvedev focused from 2 sets or less to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open men’s
MELBOURNE, Australia – He lost the first two sets, lacked confidence and was one point behind the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, so Daniil Medvedev Ask yourself the question: What will Novak do?
Fair question. Top Novak Djokovic is a nine-time Australian Open champion who has completed a single Grand Slam win of the calendar year in 2021.
Modeling himself after winning the Grand Slam 20 times, Medvedev told himself late on Wednesday to do it Felix Auger-Aliassime fight for every point.
Over an hour after saving one of his serve points in the fourth set, the US Open champion finished a comeback 6-7 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5 , 6-4. won almost half an hour after midnight.
“He played crazy, like it’s better than I’ve ever seen him play. It’s not real,” Medvedev said. “So in the third set I no longer had confidence in myself and in the outcome of the match.”
Medvedev addressed his thoughts on Djokovic in a televised interview on the court and in a press conference afterward. He’s not joking.
“I didn’t play my best, and Felix … overwhelmed me,” Medvedev said. “I didn’t know what to do so I asked myself, ‘What would Novak do?’
“And I just thought, OK, I’ll make him work. If he wants to win it, he has to…fight to the end.”
Medvedev will have to quickly recover to compete on Friday with the French Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas in last year’s semi-final rematch at Melbourne Park. Medvedev won at a similar stage last year but lost in the final to Djokovic, who was not allowed to defend his title this month for failing to meet Australia’s strict COVID-19 vaccination rules.
Tsitsipas had a much easier route to the semi-finals, beating No. 11 Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 earlier on Day 10.
Both men’s quarterfinals were postponed mid-match because of the rain.
Medvedev got a six-minute break 2-1 in the third set to close the Rod Laver Arena, and it mostly turned the momentum his way.
Auger-Aliassime took just one of the last six points in the tiebreaker after dominating the first two sets. He missed a head-to-head point on Medvedev’s serve in the 10th game of the fourth set.
Medvedev saved it with a big first serve over wide and then held with an overhead winner.
He broke Auger-Aliassime’s serve in the next game and leveled the game for all two sets. He then had one more service break when the 21-year-old Canadian made a double foul in the third game of the deciding set.
It’s not over yet.
Serving for the match, Medvedev had to save two break points – he saved six of six in the set and nine of 11 overall – before ending it.
After a quarter-final that lasted 4 hours and 42 minutes, Medvedev now has two wins to become the first man in the Open Era to win a second Grand Slam title in the next major tournament after the first.
It’s a statistic he said he wasn’t aware of before, but will now be an added incentive to win the title.
“If it is true, then it will be history,” he said. “Perfect.”
Auger-Aliassime has lost all three previous matches to second-placed Medvedev, including a straight loss in the US Open semi-finals last September.
But he was the aggressor in the first two sets, knocking Medvedev off balance with his forehand, tempo and prolific fitness. He hit 64 winners and made 75 non-compulsory errors when attacking every opportunity. It forced Medvedev to make atypical double errors in the first set and forced him to play more in the baseline to find his way back in the third and fourth sets.
“I wish I could go back and change it, but I can’t,” Auger-Aliassime said of the results. “I have accepted that. I will leave Australia with my head held high, and I will go into the rest of the season knowing I can play well against the best players in the world.”
Medvedev finished with 49 wins and 53 unwarranted fouls. He serves 15 aces but also has 9 double fouls. He has been the No. 1 seed since Djokovic was deported before the tournament following an 11-day visa saga.
Another person who could benefit from Djokovic’s absence is Rafael Nadal.
The 35-year-old Spaniard is seeking his men’s record 21st major title to break ties with Djokovic and Roger Federerwill play Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini in the remaining semi-finals.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
